The Real Battle
by mega14343
Summary: The goddess Thanatos took over both worlds who took part in the AU war. Nayuta was able to sneak a team out and now they must take back their worlds.
1. Beginning of The End

If he had to describe hell, Kizuna would probably describe something similar to what he's seeing right now.

All of his allies have fallen beside him, he can't even tell if most of them are alive. Kizuna himself barely has any strength to keep his body up.

And in front of him, the unbeatable enemy.

"Do you give up now? I merely ask you to surrender your world to me. I promise nothing bad is going to happen."

That enemy was a goddess that went by the name of Thanatos.

If nothing else, Kizuna had to give her two things. She was the strongest being Kizuna knew, and her beauty accompanied her strength. Even with two enormous machine-looking arms, she was still one of the most beautiful women Kizuna had even seen.

But now was not the time to admire her.

For one reason or the other, Thanatos had suddenly appeared and claimed she was taking over both worlds that had participated in the AU war. Thanatos easily beat everyone who tried to resist her.

"I… won't, give up."

"… Then sleep, for now."

At that moment, the world was painted in white.

And then, Kizuna opened his eyes and jumped out of the bed.

"Waaa! Ha, ha… huh?"

"! You almost scared me for a second, but you seem to be doing fine, Kizuna."

The one who was beside Kizuna while he was sleeping was none other than his mother, Nayuta.

"Kaa-san… I just had a strange dream. Everyone was…"

"Oh, that was no dream. But it happened a while ago though."

Kizuna was surprised at first, but the idea of it not being a dream was starting to settle in his mind. That's because Nayuta wasn't in her usual appearance, but rather in her younger form, the one she got when she gained the powers of a god near the end of the AU war.

There were mere hours from the moment Nayuta was defeated to Thanatos' appearance. A new enemy had appeared as soon as the AU war ended. Nayuta, who had acquired the powers of a god, was a tough opponent to beat, but Thanatos was on a completely different level.

"T-then, what happened? What about everyone else?"

"Calm down. I'll tell you everything, but first you should lay down."

Following his mother's orders, Kizuna laid himself on the bed while he listened to her explanation.

Nayuta told Kizuna that she was able to come back from the time she was defeated during the AU war, but just in time to see Thanatos take over both worlds. After Kizuna was defeated, some still tried to oppose Thanatos, but to no avail.

From what Nayuta could tell, Thanatos didn't plan to kill anyone and restored what she had destroyed, but Nayuta wouldn't wait to see what Thanatos had planned, so she took a few things and ran away.

"What I took was the Vatlantis Imperial Battleship, which is where we are right now, and a small team of people from both worlds, which are now the crew maintaining this ship. It was a bit hard for everyone to get along at first, but it turned out alright."

"What about the people you couldn't bring along?"

"They are in the worlds Thanatos took over. Before I left, I saw that everyone seemed to be fine, so you shouldn't worry about them. There's also a few other things, but I'll save that for later."

There was a lot to take in, but Kizuna was surprisingly calm. Maybe it's because it was still hard to believe all that. In any case, being calm was important right now.

"Rest a bit more. I'll come back in a little while to take you to everyone else. Now that you've woken up, we can get to work."

There was an unknown guest in the Vatlantis Imperial Battleship.

It was unknown what action one would take should they notice him, after all, though he had a handsome face with blond hair and blue eyes, he also had a sick-looking appearance at the same time.

His face would make one think he had a slight cold or something, but, other than that, nothing else stood out. His clothes looked like something any man would wear and he hid his presence at such a level people passed right by him and didn't notice anything.

He just continued hidden and commented to himself.

"Come on, little god, take me to her."

The man continued biding his time.

After about half an hour, Nayuta took Kizuna to the ship's command room, where everyone had gathered.

On the way, Kizuna saw quite a few people and Nayuta told him that she was able to bring about 500 or so people to this ship without being noticed. Kizuna asked how she was able to do that, but Nayuta avoided answering.

As soon as the door opened, everyone inside looked Kizuna's way. Even though it didn't felt like it had been long since he had last seen them, Kizuna saw some faces he wanted to see as soon as possible.

"""Kizuna!"""

"T-thank goodness."

"Heh, I knew he'd wake up soon."

[But you were worried the most, weren't you, Reiri?]

"Everyone…"

The people in that room were Nayuta's daughter and Kizuna's older sister, Reiri, and her friend, Kei. Not to mention Kizuna's companions from Amaterasu, Aine, Hayuru and Yurishia. Sylvia wasn't there, so Nayuta probably hadn't been able to bring her along.

There was also Aine's younger sister, Grace. She had been an enemy for most of the AU war, but joined Kizuna near the end. It was because Grace had allied with them that the war was able to end in a fairly peaceful way.

As a side note, there was also something that happened at the end of the AU war, so Kizuna got unexpectedly close to the younger sister. So much so Grace even calls Kizuna "nii-sama" now.

"Excuse me from getting in everyone's way, but I think we should start talking as soon as possible."

Everyone in that room knew the importance of those words, so they calmed themselves and listened to Nayuta.

"Well then, I've already told this to everyone, but I'll say it again. Although Thanatos did attack us, she didn't kill anyone as far as I know, so I'm a bit hesitant to say she's an enemy. However, she does have both worlds captive, so we need to find a way to free them from her."

"But we know very well we can't win in a fight, so what's you plan?"

Reiri simply stated a fact. Both worlds had fought Thanatos and lost, so there was no way they could win now.

"About that, I-!"

Then, the battleship shook as if it had suddenly stopped. Nayuta said "it must be her" and asked Kizuna to accompany her.

They walked to the ship's deck. Then, in front of the ship, they saw Thanatos. Or maybe it was just a projection of her image, since she was about as big as the ship and semi-transparent.

"I knew you'd be able to find us sooner or later. Let me say this first, we just want to talk."

"Good. I never intended to kill any of you anyway, so let's talk."

Even though Kizuna was just standing beside Nayuta, he was the most nervous one there. It might have been just an impression, but Kizuna thought Thanatos looked at him for a second. Maybe she remembered him from that time?

"I'll be honest from the beginning, can you let the worlds you captured go? I can't see why you'd want them and we'd appreciate our homes back."

"Just as I expected, this is what you wanted. I can't free them as I'm not really holding them captive, and I do have a purpose for them. What I can do is allow every one of you to go back there. I promise that, once I'm done with both of them, I'll let both worlds go. I just want your people's help and I'm sure I'll reach my objective faster with your help."

Thanatos said, clearly to Nayuta. However, her eyes were moving around, as if looking for something.

Thanatos felt something like a murderous intent coming from the ship. It wouldn't be surprising that someone there would want revenge against her, but it strangely seemed to come only from one person, and that same person seemed to be hiding his presence.

"Well, that we can't do. You're not telling us what you want, so we can't compromise with you. But, if you told us what your objective is, we might be able to reach an agreement."

"My objective… that's… something a little personal, so I'd rather not voice it out. I'm sure you can understand. In any case, if you're not coming back, then I'll at least escort you someplace safe. … Yes, that girl should enjoy your company. However, know that I have given you a second chance and that I will not show mercy if you show up again or try to oppose me."

Thanatos then disappeared, and the ship started moving again. It seems like Thanatos was forcibly moving the ship. Is this her idea of escorting?

Nayuta and Kizuna entered the ship. Once inside, they closed all entrances and exits and warned everyone of what was about to happen. And just as they feared, the ship started moving between worlds.

"What's going on?!"

"Thanatos is throwing us to some other world. Luckily, this was kinda part of my plan, so it should be fine."

"Kinda?!"

Their luck hadn't abandoned them though, as they were somehow able to arrive safely at some world. Then again, Thanatos did say she was going to escort them. Hopefully no one had a heart attack during the trip.

Kizuna and Nayuta then went back to the command room. Nayuta told Kizuna to try to calm everyone down while she looked through a few things.

While Kizuna was trying to calm himself and everyone else, he noticed that Nayuta had something like a roll of papyrus and seemed to be reading it, but decided it wasn't the best time to ask about it.

After a little bit, Nayuta took over for Kizuna and said.

"This actually could work out. Everyone, come here, I'm going to talk about the plan now."

Everyone in the command room directed their attention towards Nayuta. She then said.

"To be honest, the plan in very simple. We're going to meet other gods and either ask them to help us or try to find a possible weakness on Thanatos. If neither of those work, then… I don't know."

"… This plan isn't any good!" a unified voice was heard from the command room.

"What the hell was that? That woman is crazy! Ahh! I was so close… but it doesn't seem like it was a complete loss."

The hidden man said to himself as he got ready to leave the ship.

"Ok, I'll start with the appetizers then."

Nayuta was somehow able to convince Reiri and the others to give her plan a try. She said "you seem to have become quite skilled with women, my son, so go meet the goddess that lives in this world" and then made Kizuna go.

Aine, Grace, Yurishia and Hayuru were also send to accompany Kizuna. Although no one planned to fight, they were all wearing their pilot suits.

Nayuta also gave them a map that would lead them to the goddess she talked about. When asked about how she got that map, Nayuta avoided answering. One thing Kizuna found strange was that the map seemed to be made of papyrus.

Since Nayuta had kicked them out anyway, they decided to follow the map. It seemed like there wasn't a big distance between them and the goddess Nayuta talked about, and sure enough, they did find her not long after leaving.

"? I believe I was the only one left in this world, so where did you all come from?"

That goddess had messy blond hair and wore a revealing Chinese styled dress. She also had a petite body, but unexpected big breasts, which looked too big for that body size. They had been told by Nayuta that the goddess' name was Hokuto.

If he had to guess based on appearance alone, Kizuna would say she's about the same age as Aine and the others, but, considering she is a goddess, that might not be the case.

"A-are you Hokuto? We have something we'd like to ask of you."

"Hum? Wait, I think I've seen you five somewhere. Maybe in the worlds Thanatos just got? If that's the case, how did you all get out? Ah, don't worry, I'm not going to call her to pick you all up or anything. Actually, I appreciate the company."

Hokuto then got on the same level as Kizuna. Well, that wasn't completely right, since she was smaller than him. Is she really a goddess? Kizuna couldn't see her as anything other than a girl his own age.

Although he already knew she was a goddess, Kizuna was having trouble believing that. Both Nayuta and Thanatos didn't hide their power, but he couldn't tell the difference from Hokuto to any normal girl.

"Yes, we are from those worlds. We were able to escape and we want to free our worlds, so we'd like to ask for help for that."

"Ah, so that's it. Still didn't answer how, but ok. I don't think you'll need any help. Before you start thinking badly of her, what Thanatos wants is-! Gah!"

Before anyone could notice, there was an arm going through Hokuto's chest. Howvever, there was no blood and there was something like a "ball of light" being held by the hand connected to that arm.

Behind Hokuto was the mysterious man that was hiding on the Vatlantis Imperial battleship, though no one there knew that.

"Hey there people. Nothing to see here, so I recommend going home now."

"Gaa! Aaa!"

The man said as his arm continued impaling Hokuto. As mentioned before, there was no blood, but Hokuto seemed to be genuinely in pain.

Hokuto tried to resist, but the man did something which seemed to cause her even more pain. Hokuto had been trying to reach the man behind her, but soon could do nothing but scream.

Kizuna and the girls should have left that place immediately. Although they didn't know anything about Hokuto, this man was someone able to hold back a god. They should run away.

That's what they should have done, but Kizuna couldn't do that. It was like Eros' core inside him was telling Kizuna "don't let him. Stop that man" so Kizuna's mind didn't even think about running away.

"Damn it! Eros!"

"Eros?"

Following after Kizuna, the others also equipped their Heart Hybrid Gear.

"! Zeros!"

"Koros!"

"Cross!"

"Neros!"

While everyone looked ready for a fight, no one wanted to try the opponent's strength. At least, that was the case with the girls.

Kizuna acted before thinking. He rushed towards the man and punched him in the face. Surprisingly, Kizuna felt a pretty solid hit. Is this man not that strong?

The man was separated from Hokuto. She didn't look hurt, but she seemed to have trouble breathing and looked like she was about to lose consciousness.

"Aa- guun."

"I-it's alright now. No one is going to hurt you anymore."

Kizuna wasn't sure about what to say, that's why he tried to assure Hokuto before she lost consciousness in his arms.

Kizuna handed Hokuto to Aine and told them to go. Something in his chest told him that his best chance against this was man right now, that it would be too late after this.

"Take her to the ship. I'll hold this guy."

"But, Kizuna-!"

And then, the man got up. He looked at Kizuna and said.

"It's fine. I'll let you all off for today as a favor to an old friend, and it's not like I can fight right now, so it's best for me as well."

The man took a few steps back into the shadows and said "see you again soon, Eros" and then disappeared into thin air.

Everyone finally released the air they had been holding onto ever since the man appeared. As they headed back to the ship, taking Hokuto along, everyone had one thing in their minds.

What just happened and who was that man?


	2. Next Step

Kizuna and the girls quickly went back to the battleship. They explained to Reiri, Kei and Nayuta what happened with Hokuto and took her to an empty room.

After Hokuto was laid down on a bed, Nayuta and Kei did some tests on her to try to figure out what happened.

And about an hour later, Nayuta came out of the room and told Kizuna.

"From what I can tell, her life isn't in danger, so she should wake up after some rest, though I can't say for how long. But I did find out why she's like that. If I'm correct, most of Hokuto's power is gone."

"Gone? So maybe…"

"Yeah, I think so too. Most likely than not, that man you all saw was the one who took her power."

Kizuna was relieved that Hokuto wasn't going to die from that, but this only added to the mystery of who was that man.

And there was also the fact that he talked about Kizuna as if he knew him, but Kizuna doesn't remember anyone like that man. No, come to think about it, the man didn't say he knew Kizuna, but rather…

"In any case, I already have our next destination. Well, this one was supposed to be our first stop though. Anyway, something tells me that we can't let that man keep getting the gods' powers."

Kizuna nodded to his mother's suggestion, but then he realized he had a question.

"By the way, how did you know about Hokuto?"

"Oh, h-hum… I saw a few things while sneaking everyone out. I made a list of a few things we need to do to get our world back."

Nayuta raised the papyrus looking paper she had, but quickly hid it again. Kizuna was barely able to see it, but his mind was too full for him to care about it right now.

Also, they should at least try to warn the other gods about that man. Although Kizuna wasn't thinking about it like that, doing this might turn to their favor sooner or later. What Kizuna was thinking about though, is that they can't let that man get more power, if that is what he did.

"By the way, can I ask you something, Kizuna?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Considering how many Heart Hybrids you've done until now and that each one gets more intense than the last, how come are you and these girls still virgins? What sort of iron will do you all have?"

"W-what?"

Nayuta changed the mood with a question she knew Kizuna wouldn't want asked.

Kizuna got really embarrassed and didn't know how to answer, but then he noticed Nayuta started laughing and understood she was just trying to mess with him.

He just ignored his mother and continued walking. After a few seconds, Nayuta started walking behind Kizuna.

"Ok ok, I'll stop… but really now, if what you all need is a push, just tell me. If I'm going to be honest, I'm kinda curious to try doing a Heart Hybrid."

Kizuna simply pretended he didn't hear that and continued on.

A while later, in the command room.

"Alright, now that everyone knows what's going on, we should move on to the next goddess. Let's see… Osiris should be good."

"Wait wait, what are you talking about all the sudden?"

Reiri protested to her mother's sudden words, but she had to give in when Nayuta said it was the best course of action they had right now.

[Professor Nayuta, there is one problem though. We were able to meet Hokuto because Thanatos threw us to that world. How are we going to find the other gods?]

"I did some tinkering with this ship, so now it can go through worlds just fine. These divine powers really come in handy sometimes. As for identifying which world Osiris is in, that was our original course, so we just have to get back to the original track."

"But why are you insisting in this Osiris anyway?"

"About that… I have a few reasons…"

Nayuta then released a breath. It looked like she was having trouble finding the right words. The first and last parts of what she said next was murmured, so no one heard.

"Yeah, I'll go with that… I saw three goddesses while I was trying to sneak everyone. Those were Hokuto, Osiris and Odin. Hokuto is unconscious in this very ship, so it's between Osiris and Odin. Odin… for lack of better words, let's say she's aggressive, while Osiris is more reasonable… and there's also something I want to confirm about her."

There was no way for Reiri or Kei to completely get what Nayuta was saying, but they did understand some of it. In the end, they decided to go for Osiris.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the ship.

"Kizuna."

"Aine?"

Kizuna was just shooting the breeze by himself when Aine came along. She sat down beside him and started talking.

"I was worried, you know? When you weren't waking up and when you attacked that man."

"A-ah. Sorry, for making you worry."

"You should be, but I'm glad nothing happened."

Aine then closed her eyes and rested her head on Kizuna's shoulder. He, of course, didn't complain.

They stayed like that for a while. Not talking, just feeling the other's presence.

And then, more people started coming along.

"Ah! There you are."

"W-w-what are you two doing?"

"Nee-sama?"

Yurishia, Hayuru and Grace arrived there. Maybe they misunderstood something as soon as they saw Kizuna and Aine together, but they quickly noticed nothing was happening.

The girls started saying they were worried about Kizuna and that they were happy he was fine. Seeing this, Kizuna could only laugh.

Noticing the girls' confused looks, Kizuna said.

"Sorry for laughing, but I'm just happy. I'm happy we're all alive, I'm happy everyone is fine, and most of all, I'm happy we're together as friends again. I know there is a lot going on, with gods suddenly appearing and all, but I'm just happy for these small things."

There was nothing else they could do, the girls had to also show their happiness.

"Yeah."

"I'm also happy."

"It's good that everyone is friends."

Aine nodded to Yurishia, Hayuru and Grace's words, showing that she also agreed with them.

"Then, when we manage to free our worlds, let's work together. Both worlds were devastated by the AU war, but we should be able to fix everything in no time if we work together."

Everyone present agreed with Kizuna. Even though they were once enemies, that didn't matter anymore.

They continued enjoying the time they had before the next mission.


	3. World of Death (Part 1)

Kizuna, Aine and Grace were walking while covering themselves with cloaks. They were doing that to protect themselves from the sand.

That's because, right now, they were walking through a field of sand. Or maybe you'd rather call it a desert.

Just a while earlier, they had arrived in the world Nayuta said Osiris was in. While they were landing the battleship, Nayuta said.

"I think that it's best if we divide our forces. We don't want to leave the ship defenseless, and it's not like we plan to fight. How about two girls go with Kizuna and the other two stay here in case something happens?"

"That might be a good idea. You all decide who's going and who's staying."

After Reiri said that, the four girls got unexpectedly serious. Kizuna couldn't catch all of it, but it seems they planned to decide it with some game.

Meanwhile, Nayuta called Kizuna to explain about where they were.

"This world is like a big desert, so I prepared some cloaks for you all to cover yourselves. I'll give you a map to help you find Osiris, just like I did with Hokuto. But…"

[There's something strange in this world. We aren't detecting any life signs, just like in Hokuto's world, but… there are signs of "something" being there.]

As Kei typed, Kizuna's mind only thought of one thing.

"Wait, like some kind of zombie?"

"Since we're in the desert, isn't it more like mummies? In any case, once you head out, take care. We're going to hide our presences in this world, call us periodically and just ask if you need us to pick you up."

Nayuta handed Kizuna the map showing where Osiris was. Just like the map she gave for finding Hokuto, it looked like it was made of papyrus. The map gave an idea of the general terrain and have a glowing point showing where the goddess was.

After that, it didn't take long for them to land and Kizuna, along with his partners, Aine and Grace, went looking for the goddess.

True to what Nayuta had said, this world really did look like a desert.

There was nothing but sand no matter where one looked at. There were a few places that looked like they were once oasis, but the plants were dead, only animal bones remained and the water didn't look exactly drinkable.

"Nee-sama, what could have happened here?"

"I don't know. Maybe we're just unlucky and happen to be finding places that are like this, or maybe…"

Although Aine didn't finish saying, both Kizuna and Grace knew what she was going to say. Is this whole world like this?

"In any case, I can see some buildings in the distance, so there's probably a city there. Let's go to that place."

Kizuna said, pointing forward. Grace and Aine really could see buildings in that direction, so there should be people living there.

As they continued onward, there was a sudden sandstorm, almost as if the world itself was telling them to turn back.

They tried to continue at first, but the sandstorm grew too strong. Luckily, there was an abandoned house nearby. The house seemed to be in a reasonably good shape, so they decided to wait for the sandstorm to pass.

Once inside the house, they took off their cloaks. Although they hoped they wouldn't need to fight, they were wearing their pilot suit just in case.

And so, all they could do was wait.

"So, which one?"

"E-even if you ask me that…"

Kizuna and Aine were just killing time talking to each other. Grace was a bit further away and wasn't joining their conversation. Though it's not like she didn't want to.

"H-hum…"

There was something Grace hadn't told anyone. A darkness in her heart, one could say. She felt guilty for what happened during the AU war.

Obviously, she wasn't the only person who felt guilty, but a long time had passed and Grace wasn't getting any better. At this point, everyone seemed to have left the AU war behind, but Grace seemed to be the only one who couldn't do it.

People died. Some lost their friends and relatives, others lost their homes and homelands. All that happened in both worlds during the AU war, and Grace could have easily ended it with some orders.

Granted, she can't be directly blamed for most of these and it's not certain that the war would have stopped even if she tried to, but all that still weighted her heart down.

For a long time, Grace saw the other world as just the enemy, but her sister, Aine, lived in the other world for many years. Grace herself got to meet people from the other world. And there was also Kizuna.

It would be best if she talked about it with someone, but with who? There was Aine and Kizuna right there, but they looked so happy just talking with each other Grace felt like she would just trouble them.

Although they weren't exactly close yet, Grace has been quickly becoming friends with Hayuru and Yurishia, but that also only made her feel guiltier when she learned their stories.

Grace felt like she would burst sooner or later if she kept this hidden, but, at the same time, she didn't know who to talk to.

"Then… Grace?"

"W-what?!"

"H-huh? What are you talking about me, nii-sama, nee-sama?"

"Oh Grace, come, sit here."

Grace sat down beside Kizuna and listened to Aine, who was at Kizuna's other side.

"I was just asking Kizuna if there's anyone he likes, but he insists on not answering. Even though I tell him it's fine if he says he loves me or if he says he loves everyone."

"A-and I keep saying, I never really thought about it, so I don't know for sure… Grace?"

Kizuna looked at Grace, whose face got all red after hearing Aine, but then she said.

"Nii-sama, I'm sorry, but I'm also very curious."

As Grace said, she got her face near Kizuna's, who ended up losing balance and had the back of his head fall right on Aine's lap.

"Well then, Kizuna, why don't you try answering? Depending on the answer, we could maybe do a Connective Hybrid to get ready for a possible battle."

Kizuna looked up towards Aine. Even though her breasts got in the way, he could see her face, and she looked like she'd really do it.

He then looked at Grace. He already knew her pilot suit covered little and he was already accustomed to it, but for some reason it looked especially provocative now. Grace grabbing the little parts it covered while saying "if nii-sama wants to, then I don't mind" while almost taking it off didn't help Kizuna.

But then Aine stopped everything and said.

"I guess I went a little too far with provoking Kizuna. But you really should start thinking about it. I think I've already left that clear during the war, but I like you Kizuna, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. So don't make me start another AU war for you~"

Aine gave Kizuna a wink, showing she was just playing around, but Kizuna really thought she might do it.

And so time passed, with neither Kizuna nor Aine noticing the shadow in Grace's heart.

"The sandstorm is still going strong. It doesn't look like it'll pass until tomorrow."

"Then how about we sleep? It doesn't look like we'll be attacked, so I don't think there's any need to take turns."

They had already checked the house and knew there was a bed there, but there was one problem though.

"W-well, there's only one bed, so you two should sleep and I'll stay here."

"What are you talking about, Kizuna? After all that happened, you can't be embarrassed about this, can you?"

Kizuna didn't know how to answer, so he turned to Grace hoping she would save him.

"Let's all sleep together, nee-sama, nii-sama."

And so Kizuna could only give up.

And of course, when they did lie down to sleep, Kizuna was made to stay between the two sisters, each of them hugging him. Thanks to the feeling of their bodies being pressed against his, some parts more than others, Kizuna surprisingly got one of the best nights of sleep he ever had.

On the next day, the sandstorm subsided as if it had never happened. Almost as if someone had given up on making them go away. Although they found it strange, Kizuna and the girls decided to continue heading towards the city.

They were able to arrive in a few hours, but quickly went into hiding. That's because…

"Nee-sama, these people…"

"They are dead. Well, maybe not completely, but they certainly aren't alive anymore."

The "people" walking around the city were truly like mummies. They were covered in bandages, so Kizuna couldn't see what was "inside", but the smell was strong enough to give it away.

Kizuna did notice that some mummies weren't completely covered and, for better or worse, the corpse inside could be seen, but he decided not to point that out for the girls.

What could have caused this? Kizuna's mind started thinking about the worst possibilities.

"In any case, let's quickly find the goddess. She should be on top of that pyramid."

Since they didn't want to find out if the mummies were hostile or not, the three sneaked around until they reached the pyramid.

Once inside, they headed towards a place that looked like a throne room. And there they met her.

Sitting on the throne was a woman with dark skin, yellow eyes and black hair that goes a little over her shoulders. She wore an Egyptian styled attire, though not much of her body was covered. Kizuna almost turned his gaze away, but figured it would be disrespectful, so he didn't.

Still, seeing a woman with such an attractive body, it took all of Kizuna's might just to control his own imagination.

"It's been a while since I've seen living people in this world. What do you want? Say it quickly."

"Would you be the goddess Osiris? We're sorry to come in like this, but we have something to tell you and would to ask a favor."

"Yes, I am Osiris. And if you are from the worlds Thanatos just recently got, I already know what you're here for and I have my answer. You can leave now, quickly go back to your ship."

They were denied so easily, Kizuna didn't know what to do for a second. Actually, were they denied?

"W-wait. Then at least please listen-"

"Grace?!"

"Leave, now."

Just when Kizuna was about to raise his voice, Koros', Grace's scythe was placed on his neck. Aine was surprised and Osiris warned them again.

"Don't worry, she didn't betray you two. I'm just making her do that with my powers, but I don't plan on harming anyone. Please, just quickly leave this world."

Osiris said that, but Aine got mad. Kizuna noticed and tried to stop her, but wasn't quick enough.

"Zeros!"

Equipped with her Heart Hybrid Gear, Aine passed Kizuna and Grace and aimed straight for Osiris.

"If I beat you, Grace should go back to normal, right?!"

"! Don't!"

Osiris herself tried to warn Aine, but it was too late. A giant mechanical falcon flew in Aine's direction. It hit her and the wall that stopped Aine was shattered.

"Gah!"

Aine coughed blood. The falcon was going to attack again but Osiris said "Horus, stop" and the falcon flew away.

"This isn't good. I have to make sure she … The other one!"

"Aaaa!"

Osiris walked towards Aine so she could check her condition, however, she was surprised by Grace. Grace, who was freed from Osiris' control for a second, rushed straight towards the goddess, who she thought was going to attack her sister.

Surprised, Osiris only opened her eyes as much as she could. Kizuna saw a slight glow for a second and then only saw Grace fall down on the next.

"No. No no, just not that! I'll have to take care of them now."

"Eros!"

Kizuna got ready for combat. He didn't want to and knew he couldn't win, but he wouldn't just let this go.

He felt something burning within himself. It was different from when he faced that man after he did that to Hokuto. At that time, he felt like the "heat" was coming from Eros, but now, he feel like it's coming from himself.

In any case now was not the time to mind that. If this woman posed a danger to Aine and Grace, Kizuna would fight her even if he died because of it.

But then…

"Wait, these girls are important to you right? I'm sorry, but if you want them to live, you'll have to help me."

Osiris put her hands up, as if she was giving up. Seeing this, Kizuna was baffled more than before. But, if she's offering help… Kizuna have to accept it.


	4. World of Death (Part 2)

"... Where...?"

When she came to, Grace was surrounded by darkness. That's not an expression. There was simply nothing there.

Who knows how long Grace spend looking at nothing before she finally noticed some sound behind her.

Grace turned around. What she saw was the Vatlantis Imperial Capital. There were no scars of the AU war left, as if it had never happened.

"What's… going on?"

Walking around, Grace was able to gather that, apparently, about a year had passed since the end of the AU war. Although it shouldn't, the idea easily settled in her mind.

The one thing Grace found strange, however, was how people talked to her. Although no one was making it very clear, it was like they were taking pity on her.

As things were still confusing to her, Grace decided to try to find some answers with other people. She went into the palace to try to meet someone.

The servants looked at her surprised, but Grace didn't mind it. She just continued going forward until she found her sister in her room.

"Grace, there you are."

"Nee-sama, I-I'm confused. What's going on?"

"Calm down. Let's sit down and I'll explain everything."

They both sat down on Aine's bed and she started explaining what happened.

In short, the AU war ended. Somehow, the people from both worlds were able to leave their differences behind and help each other, resulting in both worlds being repaired in no time.

That was all fine and good, but once they were done with the repairs, people started to look back, thinking about why they had to go through all this to begin with.

"People started revolting. They wanted someone to blame for everything, even though they know it's no one's fault. And through a series of judgments, people considered to be the ones who caused the AU war were found guilty and given their sentences. Grace, you are one of them."

That was a bit of a shock, but Grace half expected it. If she couldn't forgive herself for what happened in the AU war, how could anyone else?

Somehow, Grace was fine with it.

"I see. I'll be executed, but nee-sama will be able to live happily with nii-sama and everyone else, so I'm fine with it."

"Thank you Grace, but listen, you won't-"

"Aine, I'll take it from here."

That voice. There was no wait Grace wouldn't recognize that voice.

"Nii-sama?"

"I'm here, Grace. They want you turned in right now, so I came to pick you up. I made sure you were kept close to me, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

So Kizuna was the one here to take Grace. If this has to happen, Grace preferred that Kizuna was the one with her rather than someone she had never met before.

"Okay. Nee-sama, I'm going now. Bye…"

"Grace, wait."

Grace went away with Kizuna before she could hear what her sister had to say. She did that because she really felt like she might not have the strength to go if her sister asked her to stay.

But this was something Grace believe she deserved, so she couldn't back out now. If it was needed, Grace would be more than happy to die for her sister.

Their next stop was the court. They reached that place before Grace could even notice. There, Grace formally received her sentence and was redirected to her new "home".

"E-eh? Nii-sama, I thought I was going to be executed."

"That was the original plan, but people wouldn't be happy with that. They want the ones responsible for the war to suffer like they did, so the sentence was changed to imprisonment. But, through some contacts, we were able to make your situation a bit "better". Instead of just being thrown into prison for the rest of your life, you'll be send to a place made for you and only your friends will know where you are."

Although not what she expected, Grace couldn't deny that her situation wasn't as bad as she would have thought.

Then why?

"N-nii-sama, what are you doing?"

"Sorry, but please don't resist."

After they entered the place Grace was going to be imprisoned at, Kizuna grabbed the chain that was in the middle of the room and locked it in Grace's arm.

Other than that chain. There was nothing in that place. Not a bed, not a toilet, nothing.

"Grace, this is your sentence. You have to spend the rest of your life here, with nothing and no one."

"W-what? B-but…"

Grace didn't know what to do. She never imagined things would come to this. Grace herself agreed that she had to pay for what happened with the AU war, but this… now that it's happening…

Once she was chained to the ground, Kizuna started heading towards the exit. Before leaving, he turned around.

"I'll come by tomorrow to see what we can do about Koros' core. … Sorry Grace, and thank you for accepting your punishment so easily."

Kizuna opened the door and left. Once the door was closed again, Grace was left in complete darkness, in a place were not even light was allowed in.

After she was done, Osiris released all the air she had been holding up ever since she started. Looks like she was really worried.

"This girl seems to be fine. I was a bit worried she might have gotten some internal injuries, but it seems there's no problem. She should wake up soon. As for the other one… only time will tell for her."

Both Aine and Grace were laid down on a bed. They were still in Osiris' pyramid and had been guided to a room by Osiris herself. As a side note, the bed was big enough to hold all four of them at the same and, although Kizuna couldn't really tell, the room seemed quite luxurious.

Kizuna was also there and, other than Osiris, was the only conscious one in that room right now.

"I-I see. Thank you for taking care of them, a-and sorry for almost getting aggressive back there. But why are you doing that?"

"It has to do with the reason why I wanted you all out of this world as soon as possible. Basically, this world can't sustain life anymore, not only that, but it also sucks it up from anything that's still living. As a goddess, I'm fine, but you all have spent more than a day here, so you'd soon start seeing the effects. That's why I wanted you three out as soon as possible. I planned to go to where you were soon after."

"W-what? Then, we have to leave soon!"

"Calm down. I've made some preparations. As long as it's just you three, and you all stay in this room, it'll be fine. At least let the silver haired one wake up so you can decide what to do with the pink haired one."

After hearing that, Kizuna was able to calm down. Osiris even went as far as to say she was sorry and should have handled the situation better, but Kizuna said it didn't matter since she helped them and she had good intentions.

Osiris then said she was going to find something for them to eat. It was then that Kizuna remembered one of the reasons why they had come.

"Wait. I need to tell you something first."

Kizuna then told Osiris about what happened with Hokuto and that their plan was to warn the other gods as they asked for help.

"You probably think I'm just joking or that you shouldn't worry, but please take this warning seriously."

"No, I believe you, and I'm not naïve. If this man was able to take Hokuto's power, then he should be able to take mine as well, so I'll be careful. Thanks for warning me."

Kizuna was surprised with how easily Osiris believed him. His mother had said that Osiris was more reasonable, but he didn't expect this.

Osiris then left the room. About 20 minutes after, she came back with food for Kizuna.

"Wow, this is really good. But where did it come from?"

"As a goddess, it's easy enough for me to create food like this, though I cooked it myself. As long as it's eaten quickly enough, it won't "die" like everything else in this world. Once they wake up, just call me and I'll get them something as well."

Since Osiris said she cooked it herself, she must have been really good cooking. It had a taste of homemade cooking, just like a mother's.

Once he finished, Kizuna had nothing else to do but watch over Aine and Grace, so he wondered if he could ask Osiris a few things just to pass time. Since she agreed, Kizuna decided to ask whatever he could think about.

"First, what happened with Grace? From what I could tell, you used some kind of power on her."

"I guess you could say that. If I'm going to be honest, I don't like that power. I had sealed it away but ended up using it when she surprised me. If I had to explain it… it basically puts them in a nightmare were they have to face their fears. Luckily, I managed to hold some of it back, so she should be fine after waking up. Whatever happens, stay with her, she likes you a lot."

Kizuna looked at Osiris with doubt, wondering how could she know this. She explained that, when she uses that power, she gets to see a bit of the person's feelings and what the person thinks.

"Then, second question. I and the girls saw a lot of dead plants and animals on the way here, but why are only the people… like that?"

"…"

"A-ah, you don't have to answer."

"No, it's fine. I'll tell you. I owe you that much."

Osiris closed her eyes, as if she was trying to recall a memory she wanted to forget.

"This world got like this not long after I became a goddess. At the time, I couldn't do anything about it. I had a husband and a daughter, and I saw them die, along with everyone else. I couldn't bear it, so I tried to bring them back. But my powers weren't enough. For better or worse, all I could do was leave them like that, not quite alive, but not quite dead. Even if I tried to undo it now… it can't be undone."

A single teardrop fell from Osiris' eyes down her face. Kizuna noticed that and, for a second, forgot she was a goddess and treated her like he would any normal woman.

He put his hand on her back, letting her know it was fine to cry. Due to Osiris' clothes, Kizuna's hand came in direct contact with Osiris' skin, but neither of them minded it right now. Kizuna just kept patting her on the back.

"I-I should have let them be, but because of my selfishness I tried to play the role of a god of death, and ended up leaving them like that."

"You didn't mean anything bad by it, so I'm sure they would forgive you. Sorry for making you remember those bad memories."

Seeing that Kizuna was genuinely trying to cheer her, Osiris could only lightly laugh at herself. She apologized for getting emotional so easily and Kizuna said it was no problem.

Since he had brought up something inconvenient for Osiris, Kizuna figured it was only fair for the same to happen to him.

"A while before we got here, me and Aine, the silver haired girl, talked about… hum… love and such. And well, it made me think I really don't know my feelings. … Ah, I'm just telling you that because I made you remember something you didn't want to, so I also told you something I don't really want to be found out."

After hearing him, Osiris put her hand in his chest, near his heart. She then put her other hand in her own chest, near her own heart. Kizuna was a bit distracted at first from looking at Osiris' breasts, but soon recovered when she started talking.

"My husband used to say that we'll only really find out about who we loved and how much we loved that person after death, but by then it's too late. He also said that, the feeling that we get from here towards someone is the closest we'll get to love in our lifetime. You're still young, so, as long as you've got that feeling here in your heart, isn't it fine to take a chance?"

Although Kizuna didn't expect to receive counseling and he certainly couldn't say he understood everything, he was still thankful for this. He felt like, even if only a little, he got a bit closer to his true feelings.

Then, they noticed Aine was starting to wake up.

"Well, I'll leave for a few minutes and then come back."

"Oh, okay."

Once Osiris left, it didn't take long for Aine to wake up. Kizuna explained everything to her. Right now, Aine had Grace's head on her lap and was caressing her head.

"I see. I'm glad both you and Grace are fine. I just hope she wakes up soon. So, what do you think we should do?"

"I don't know. We could wait for Grace to wake up and try to talk with Osiris again while we're at it, but what do you think?"

"Honestly, I kinda want to punch that goddess for doing this with my little sister, but I know it won't solve anything. So let's go with your idea for now."

Kizuna nodded. Although he could understand how Aine felt, he hoped she got on good terms with Osiris after they get to know each other.

"Oh, Kizuna, come here."

Aine called Kizuna, so he came over. Before he noticed Aine gave Kizuna's lips a quick kiss.

"Before I lost consciousness, I saw you getting mad at Osiris and equipping your Heart Hybrid Gear. I know it didn't come to a fight, but I'm happy that you care about us."

It was a quick kiss, but Kizuna felt all the emotion in it. He also thought that Aine's happy face, which accompanied the kiss, was beautiful.

That brought his mind back to what Aine had asked him before. About who he likes and what he'll do after everything ends. Since he'll have the time, Kizuna figured he might as well start thinking about it. About the feeling in his heart.


	5. World of Death (Part 3)

Isn't this what you wanted?

'No. No, it isn't.'

Even though you were blaming yourself so much? You knew no one blamed you, but you still decided to hide what you were feeling and look at where it got you.

'I-I… it's just, when I finally started to see them like people and not as enemies, I felt guilty. People died, lost their families, friends and everything else. I even ordered Professor Nayuta to continue her research… once I saw them as humans, just like the ones from my world, I couldn't bear to look back at everything I did and ordered to be done.'

I see. Then, do you still feel guilty?

'… I don't think I'll ever stop feeling guilty. But even so… maybe I'm asking for too much, but I want to meet nee-sama and nii-sama again. I also want to get to know their friends better. And I want to see nii-sama marry nee-sama and all the other girls he likes… maybe even…'

Then go back to them. Open your heart and tell them everything you're feeling. Like you said, maybe you'll never get over the guilt, but you don't have to carry it alone.

In the Vatlantis Imperial battleship, it had been a while since Kizuna had send an update, so people were starting to get worried.

"… Any news?"

[Kizuna, Aine and Grace's signal are still active, so they're still in this world. However, they haven't moved, so we can't be sure about their situation.]

After she finished typing, Kei coughed a bit. Along with her, quite a few people in this ship seem to have gotten a cold since they entered this world, though that's probably a coincidence.

Listening to Kei's report, Reiri didn't exactly felt relieved. As they were, they couldn't move the battleship to where Kizuna and the others were and check on them. It's not like the ship had any problems, it's just a matter of trying not to intimidate the goddess.

Nayuta, who was just sitting there, then got up and said.

"Okay, I guess this is enough waiting. I'm going out."

Nayuta was about to stroll out like it wasn't anything special. Reiri then called her.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?"

"I know he's quite grown up now, but is there anything wrong with a mother going to pick up her son? Besides, there's a few things I want to check, so I'll be bringing Yurishia along."

Reiri thought about stopping her mother, but didn't felt like putting the effort. Nayuta wasn't the type that would do something that might put everything at risk because of emotion, so she probably had some kind of plan.

After calling Yurishia, the both of them went out of the battleship. Yurishia equipped her Heart Hybrid Gear, Cross, and both of them started flying in the direction Kizuna and the sisters went.

"… Professor, do you think we'll have to fight?"

"I thought you'd start calling me "mother" as soon as you got the chance. What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just, I'm worried about Kizuna, Aine and Grace, so it didn't even cross my mind. But I really do plan to start calling you "mother" soon."

Nayuta laughed out loud. She said that, although she'll give her blessings to anyone who likes Kizuna, she personally likes those that are more honest with themselves, like Yurishia was being right now.

"In any case, answering your original question, no, I don't think we'll have to fight."

"Then, wouldn't it have been better if I had stayed to help protect the ship in case of an attack?"

"It would, but I have a job only you can do. Don't worry, we won't be long."

Noticing how Yurishia seemed confused, Nayuta decided to give just one more tip.

"Well, let's say I didn't get this far on my own. I had some divine help."

Aine noticed how Grace's condition changed, so Kizuna called Osiris to check on her.

"Looks like she'll be waking up soon. Again, I'm sorry for putting her in this state. I didn't mean any harm."

"It's fine now. Still, considering she spend a whole say sleeping, I was starting to get worried."

Aine really did look relieved as she watched Grace. Kizuna turned towards Osiris and thanked her.

"Thanks for helping us. Without you, we probably would have died without even knowing why."

"It's no problem, and-? Stay here, don't leave this room."

Although Kizuna didn't properly understand, Osiris left the room as soon as she said that.

She went to the throne room, the same place she had met Kizuna and the girls. Apparently, there were more guests coming.

After she sat down, Osiris didn't have to wait much until the guests arrived.

"Hey there, Osiris."

"The new goddess, huh. And… Isis? No, you're from that world Thanatos is keeping. Yurishia, is it?"

The ones who came in were a little girl with black hair, Nayuta, and a young lady with an appearance similar to someone who Osiris once knew, Yurishia.

Yurishia looked a bit confused as to why Osiris had called her by another name, but decided to not pay it any mind and let Nayuta talk.

"I'll go directly to the point. Osiris, did you happen to see a young man with two girls accompanying him that should have come here to talk with you? And also, when Thanatos captured my world, you were the one who helped me sneak everyone, weren't you?"

Yurishia couldn't hide her surprise from hearing Nayuta. Osiris had helped them escape? It felt strange to think Nayuta did it all on her own, but still… why would Osiris do that?

"The answer is yes, for both questions. Come, I'll take you two to them."

Osiris guided them to the room Kizuna was at. Due to the short distance, it didn't take them long to get there.

"Kizuna!"

"Woah? Yurishia, since when?"

Yurishia hugged Kizuna as soon as she saw him. She said "it's been days, I was so worried" to him and "oh, I see you're fine as well" when she saw Aine.

"It's good to see you as well."

"And what about Grace? Did something happen?" Yurishia asked as soon as she noticed Grace wasn't up.

"Just a little something. She should be waking up soon."

After that, Yurishia finally released Kizuna. She then turned to Nayuta and Osiris and told them.

"Aren't you two going to explain anything?"

"In the ship. Come on, let's go. I suppose it won't be a problem for you to accompany us even if just for a bit."

Just then, Osiris noticed something in Nayuta's words.

"Wait, did you say ship? As in, there are more people in this world?"

"? Yeah, we came in the battleship you helped me get."

"She helped you, kaa-san?"

"In the ship, we'll explain everything."

Osiris started visibly sweating. It definitely wasn't because of the heat.

"Oh no. I thought you had the ship waiting outside the world. I didn't think there was anyone else in this world. We have to leave now."

No one else understood what had gotten Osiris so worked up. No one, except Kizuna.

"This world's curse."

"Exactly. Hurry. Considering how long your people have been exposed to this world without any kind of protection, some should be starting to get sick, right?"

Although they still hadn't quite understood what was the problem, no one intended to stay to find out.

Aine and Kizuna equipped their Heart Hybrid Gear and they all started flying towards their ship. Kizuna was carrying the still unconscious Grace.

"Still, why didn't any of you tell me this?!"

"I though Kizuna already had."

"To be honest, with all that happened, I kinda forgot. I didn't think it would affect the ship."

Kizuna was never the smartest around, but this was a serious issue. If Nayuta and Yurishia hadn't decided to come, who knows how things would have gone?

Just then, Kizuna started feeling something moving. It was Grace waking up.

"Grace. Come on, we're going back to the ship."

"N-nii-sama… I-I can't."

However, Grace pushed herself away. She equipped Koros to break her fall, but unequipped it as soon as she got to the ground.

"Kizuna, what's going on?"

"You girls go on ahead, I'll go get Grace."

Kizuna flew to where Grace was. He tried to approach her, but Grace just cowered in the spot. It was then that Kizuna remembered what Osiris said about what he should do when Grace woke up.

"… You must have seem some bad stuff on that dream, but it's alright now. I'm here, your sister is here, everyone's here."

"Nii-sama, I-I… I did horrible things in the AU war. Even though I know none of you blame me for it, I can't find the strength to forgive myself. I-I don't know what to do. What if someone wants to kill me or send me to jail when everything is back to normal?"

As Grace was talking, she started crying. Her tears were falling on the ground and being absorbed by the sand.

Kizuna was slowly approaching Grace. He got close enough to the point where he could hug her, so he did.

Once he touched her, Kizuna could tell how Grace really felt, and he thought of himself as an idiot for not noticing. Of course she had doubts with all the stuff that happened with the AU war. Everyone did, Kizuna himself had, so why did he never wonder about Grace? The least he could have done was ask her about how she felt, even if she said nothing.

"It's true that, once everything is back to normal, maybe there will be those who will want the ones at the front of the AU war to be held responsible for their crimes. But, let's say that you go into judgment and both worlds decide you need to be punished, you know what I'd do?"

Grace then looked up at Kizuna's eyes. Once she was looking at him, Kizuna gave his answer.

"I'd give them a good punch. And if that isn't enough, I'm sure Aine will give an even stronger one. I'm not going to let anyone do what they please with my little sister."

Using a bit of comedy, Kizuna was able to make Grace laugh for a bit.

"Hehe, but we aren't really siblings."

"Even so, as long as you call me "nii-sama" I'll be your big brother, and I won't let anyone land a hand on you."

As if she lost her strength, Grace's knees gave up. Kizuna held Grace and sat her on the ground and continued speaking.

"Listen Grace, everyone thinks about what they did in the AU war. I'm sorry for not noticing how you felt until now. But know that no one here blames you, and I won't let anyone blame you. I don't know what it is yet, but I want to spend more time with you and I want to get to know you better, so, if you'd also like to, let's live in the present. We can't forget the past, but we have to learn how to live with it."

After hearing Kizuna, Grace was able to calm down. She couldn't just forget everything, but now she felt like it just might be possible for her to live with it.

And so, as thanks, Grace placed her lips on top of Kizuna's. In other words, she gave him a kiss. Although it wasn't deep, Grace made sure to transmit her feelings.

"Nii-sama said he doesn't know how he feels yet, but I do. I know that I love you, nii-sama. So I can wait for as long as nii-sama needs to discover his feelings."

"Grace…"

Before Kizuna could give any kind of reaction, the communications window popped up with Aine's face.

[Kizuna, are you coming? They're saying we have to go fast.]

"We'll be there in a minute."

Kizuna got up and then offered his hand to Grace, who took it. Then, they both flew to the ship, which soon left that world.

As soon as Grace came back, Aine asked what had happened, so Grace took Aine to her room so that she could tell her everything. Meanwhile, Osiris ended up having to take a look at everyone on board and was only done hours later.

After she had opened her heart to her sister, Grace fell asleep. Aine left her there and went to the command room to listen to what Osiris had to say.

"I wasn't expecting to have to look at everyone here, it was more exhausting than I would have thought, so I'll keep things short for today."

Except for Grace, everyone had gotten together in the command room to listen to Osiris. As everyone was tired, all of them were thankful Osiris wanted to keep things short.

"Well, I'll just tell you why Thanatos decided to kidnap your worlds. The reason would be her." Osiris said as she pointed to Nayuta, then she continued explaining. "All of us, me, Hokuto, Odin, and even you, Nayuta, were all human at one point and became gods, but Thanatos is different. She was always a goddess."

Although it was surprising to hear, that still didn't explain what Thanatos wanted. That's why Osiris continued talking.

"She was in some kind of sleep for a long time and, when she woke up, me and the other gods were already around. For as long as I have known her, Thanatos has just wanted to know what she's supposed to do. All of us, who were once human, have an idea of what we want to do with our powers, but Thanatos doesn't."

[And what would she need to find that objective?]

"She thinks she could find it if she could go back and ask the people who made her. She is the most powerful of all of us, but even she can't travel back in time. So she went with the next best thing. If she was able to find some world which could produce a god, she believes she could find some kind of answer by having them make "another Thanatos"."

"That's it? It's a lot more peaceful than I had imagined. I though she wanted to take over all the worlds or something."

Reiri worded it, but it was on everyone's mind, but maybe not the "taking over all worlds" part. From the looks of it, they would be able to even talk Thanatos out of it.

"Maybe it is, but she won't find what she wants like this, and that's when things might not get so peaceful. That's why I thought of this plan. We could show Thanatos the answer she wants and free your world at the same time, but it seems there was a bit of an unforeseen accident here."

That mysterious man and what he did with Hokuto, who still hadn't recovered her consciousness. If he really did steal Hokuto's power, they couldn't wait around and see what he'd do with it.

"For now, let's rest. Tomorrow, we'll head to Odin to at least warn her, but preferably get her help as well. Then, although I'd like to make more preparations, we're going to have to meet with Thanatos and at least warn her about this man."

With that, everyone went to their own rooms. Everyone fell asleep quickly with all that had happened.

What they couldn't have imagined, was that, someone was also on their way to pay a visit to Odin.


	6. Reach The Top While They Fight

As Osiris had already given the coordinates to reach Odin's world, all they had to do now was wait. And since that was the case, they decided to come clear about Osiris' involvement.

Reiri and Kizuna were in a room and they were sitting in front of Nayuta and Osiris. Reiri started asking the questions.

"How about we start with how exactly did Osiris help you."

"Well, even if I did manage to become a god, I'm still new to all of this, so there was no way I'd be able to sneak past Thanatos, especially with everyone else. Basically, Osiris was the one to sneak all of this out and left it there for me with some instructions, isn't that right?"

Nayuta asked Osiris, who was sitting beside her. As a side note, Kizuna thought that the instructions Osiris had left for Nayuta might have been those papyrus that Nayuta used to check every now and then.

"That's basically it. Though I didn't imagine Thanatos would have found you between the worlds. In the plans I gave Nayuta, you'd first meet me, and then we'd talk with the others, but I guess there was some luck in all that. Because she send you to Hokuto, you met that man who stole her powers."

Thinking in retrospect, it made sense that Nayuta had some help. She had gotten her powers near the end of the AU war, a little before Thanatos appeared, so she couldn't have learned how to properly use her powers so quickly.

"But, why? I'm grateful that Osiris helped us, but why are you doing it?"

At Kizuna's question, Osiris stopped for a second before answering.

"I'm pretty sure you all wouldn't like to live just so that you can make "another Thanatos" so this one can find her purpose. And, even if she doesn't seem like it, Thanatos herself is getting more and more desperate. I'm not the type of person who would just stand by watching others suffering like that, and besides, depending on what Thanatos decides to do when she gets desperate, this could end badly for everyone. I'm just preventing the worst from happening."

That was the answer Osiris gave, and it was a believable one. However, she remembered the small time she and Kizuna spend talking back at her own world. It was just a little, but Osiris felt like she grew a bit closer to Kizuna, and to everyone else as consequence, so she decided to complete her answer.

"All that I said just now is true, but it's not all. I guess the biggest reason would be that, the girl called Yurishia, she bears strong resemblance to my deceased daughter, so I didn't want to see her live being used just to fulfil a god's will. I guess you could say that, in the end, I did it on a whim."

Osiris looked away, as if she was a bit embarrassed to say. Nayuta had a look of "I knew it" but didn't voice any reactions, neither did Kizuna or Reiri.

By the way, Nayuta also commented that, originally, Osiris had only sneaked Yurishia and the ship out, but Nayuta said she'd need more help so Osiris went back and got the others, though at the time Nayuta didn't know it was Osiris doing it.

They continued asking questions to clear any doubts they had. From a third party's perspective, it might have looked like they were just getting to know each other.

[We'll soon be reaching our destination. Everyone, prepare yourselves.]

Soon, the message was transmitted all across the ship. Kizuna excused himself, as he had to get ready for his next mission. Reiri continued there with Nayuta and Osiris to finish asking what she felt they needed to know.

Before going to the changing room, Kizuna decided to check on Aine and Grace. Grace had been granted a leave for a few days so that she could rest her mind, Aine wasn't going to participate on this mission both to protect the ship and to watch over her sister.

After spending some time talking with the sisters, Kizuna left for the changing room to put his pilot suit on. He was a bit later than usual, but he would still have a lot of time left.

Kizuna entered the changing room and started undressing. There was also a shower room connected to the ship's changing room, but Kizuna didn't feel like he needed a bath right now.

And then, just as Kizuna was about to put his pilot suit on, he heard wet steps behind him, as if someone had just come out of the bath.

"Kizuna?"

"Hayuru?"

The pilot suit required to be used without underwear on, so Kizuna was obviously naked holding his pilot suit a bit in front of his body. Hayuru, who had just come out of the bath, was also naked with only a towel around her neck, her hair was covering her breasts a bit, but not enough that Kizuna couldn't see her nipples and he definitely could see the spot between her legs.

It was just then that it clicked on Kizuna's mind. As there were no men in Vatlantis, the Vatlantis Imperial battleship, where they were right now, wouldn't have two different changing rooms. That's why he had been told to quickly use the changing room as soon as every mission was announced, so something like this wouldn't happen.

Kizuna was about to say "sorry" and leave the place in a hurry, but Hayuru was faster. She covered herself and said.

"I-it's fine, Kizuna. I-I know you didn't mean to come in like this, so just finish changing."

For a second, Kizuna thought this Hayuru might be an impostor, but it looks like she wouldn't shout "indecent!" and hit him today.

With their backs turned to each other, Kizuna continued dressing his suit while Hayuru dried herself.

"Sorry, I really didn't know there was anyone here."

"I-it's fine already."

For some reason, the pilot suit seemed a bit hard to put on today, so Kizuna was taking longer than he normally would. Meanwhile, he couldn't help but steal glances at Hayuru behind him. Although all he could see was her back, he would be lying if he said it had no effect.

"Kizuna, hum, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure…"

"W-well… is there anyone you l-like? Or are you going out with anyone?"

Somehow, Kizuna both expected and didn't expect this question. He decided to answer as honestly as he could.

"I'm not going out with anyone, but about the liking part… Aine asked me the same thing recently. She said it was fine if I said I didn't like anyone, that I liked someone in specific or that I liked everyone. I've been thinking about it, but I really don't know the answer yet."

"I-I see… then…"

Kizuna, who was still trying to put on his clothes, was surprised when Hayuru hugged him from behind. He was about to point out she was naked, but she said "just let me stay like this for a little" so he gave up.

On his back, Kizuna could feel the beats of Hayuru's heart. As if that heart was holding a strong emotion.

"Kizuna, I-"

"Ah! I also want to hug Kizuna while naked."

Yurishia suddenly popped out of nowhere, and took off her clothes in a flash. Just as she had said, she hugged Kizuna by the front, while Hayuru was still hugging him from the back. Kizuna couldn't keep his balance and the three of them fell.

Even after falling, Yurishia was still holding onto Kizuna, making sure to press her body against his.

"I see Kizuna is already energetic. If there wasn't so little time, we could do a Climax Hybrid to prepare for the mission."

Kizuna felt like he heard something similar recently.

Before Kizuna could even react, Hayuru did. She tore Yurishia from Kizuna and kept her away.

"Yurishia, what are you thinking? You just-"

"Ah, sorry for ruining your moment with Kizuna. It's just that I couldn't hold myself back when I saw him."

"Why you-!"

Hayuru looked really mad as she tried to grab Yurishia. Yurishia held Hayuru's arms in place and told Kizuna to finish quickly and wait for them. Kizuna, not wanting any trouble for himself, did as told.

A while later, when Kizuna met Yurishia and Hayuru a little before the mission, Kizuna asked how they were and they both replied "it's all good" as if the changing room thing never happened. Although Kizuna couldn't quite understand it, he just dismissed this as something between girls that he would never get.

After Nayuta gave them what they needed and Osiris told them a few things, the three left to look for the next god.

Flying with their Heart Hybrid Gear, they landed on a mountainous region. They decided to land there and go the rest of the way walking. That would both show Odin that they were not hostile, and there was also another reason.

"Wow, this scenery is beautiful."

"It really is."

Yurishia and Hayuru said they wanted to enjoy the view a bit. Kizuna saw no problems with it, so he accompanied them.

It was neither sunrise nor sunset, but Kizuna felt like the vision of them looking into the horizon with that lighting really did look like something out of a painting. Luckily, it seems no one noticed Kizuna's admiration.

He doesn't just think they're beautiful because of their skintight pilot suit. Even if they were wearing normal clothes, Kizuna was sure he'd still think this scene was just as beautiful.

He just then noticed that the girls had grabbed his arms and were pulling him along. They stopped near the cliffside and just looked at the scenery for a little bit.

While holding his arm, Yurishia said.

"Kizuna, I heard what Hayuru asked you in the changing room. I don't want to rush your answer, but I just want you to know that I love you. And, just like Aine told you, it's fine if you don't like anyone or if you like everyone, but I just wanted to let you know my feelings."

Before Kizuna could even process what he heard, he was hit by another confession.

"M-me as well. I also fell for Kizuna. Although I think it's indecent, I think we all fell for Kizuna at the same time and for the same reason, so I'll accept whatever Kizuna's answer is, even if you say you like everyone."

Hearing this from the two beautiful girls beside him, Kizuna couldn't just stay silent. That said, he also had no answer to give. If he did answer right now, he wasn't sure it would be his true feelings.

"I-I…"

"Ah, it's fine, you know. I told you we don't want to rush you. Just think about it, you have all these beautiful girls that like you, do you like them all back? Whenever you find the answer, we'll listen."

Hayuru nodded to what Yurishia said, showing those were also her thoughts.

Then after saying "let's continue the mission" the girls started walking and Kizuna decided to follow.

Not long after, they started hearing some specific sounds. Sounds of people fighting. They decided they needed to hurry up.

At the same time the three left the battleship.

Odin was at the top of one of those mountains. The place she was at looked like an arena and she looked ready for battle. As a goddess that enjoyed fighting, she spend a lot of time in that arena.

"I noticed when you entered my world. It seems you have business with me. And it doesn't seem like you're here to talk."

Odin, unlike in the myths, was a beautiful woman with short silver hair. She had one eye covered by an eyepatch and the other was a beautiful blue color. Her dragon-looking armor exposed most of her body and she held a lance called Gungnir.

From the shadows, a man with long blond hair and a face that made one think he had a cold or something came out. He was the same man who had stolen Hokuto's power.

"Hey there. I don't suppose you'll be kind enough to just sit there, will you?"

"Hah, if you beat me in combat, you'll be able to do whatever you want with me."

As soon as she said that, Odin disappeared and reappeared in front of the man. She struck with Gungnir soon after and the man was barely able to dodge.

"Phew. I'm really weak, so please don't do that. That said, I'm fairly quick, so I have confidence in my ability to run away."

"Are you not going to attack?"

"I mean, I could punch you, but it wouldn't even be as strong as a normal man's punch. I was never the fighter type, you know."

"Then, I have no business with you."

Odin kept attacking with Gungnir, but the man kept evading. It was by a hair's breadth and the man looked out of breath, though that last part might just be because of his appearance, but it was still impressive.

Deciding it wouldn't take her anywhere, Odin ceased her attacks.

"That's irritating. You're not a normal man, but you say you aren't strong either. Who are you exactly?"

"Me? I'm just the guy who's supposed to keep the gods in check. No, I guess that description isn't right. To be honest, even I don't really know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it. But I know that, if I don't…"

The man ran forward and punched Odin's stomach. The punch wasn't fast and the strength was about that of a child's, so Odin was surprised by how weak it was.

But then, all the sudden, Odin felt a strong impact from her side. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to throw her to a wall and smash it.

Odin quickly recovered. When she looked in that direction, she only saw the man that she already knew was there.

"That was a strong one. What was it?"

"The weak have their own little trick to survive."

The man once again came running towards Odin. This time, she wouldn't even let him come close. Odin got ready to strike him, but felt a strong punch in her face just before she could.

Next, she felt like someone kicked her in the side, pushing her in that direction. Predicting where the next attack would come from, Odin was able to block it with her lance.

"… What?"

The figure soon vanished, but Odin was able to see something like the shadowy figure of a sword. It wasn't just a sword, if she was correct, there was a whole person there.

It was like… there was a person made of "shadows" there and that person had attacked her with a sword that was also made of "shadows".

"And now, for the finisher!"

Hearing the man, Odin noticed he was behind her. When she turned around, she saw the man had his arm in a position where it looked like he was ready to impale her with it.

What she had yet to notice was that, behind her, who was now facing the man, stood a shadowy figure of a girl with a petite body and breasts that looked too big for that body size. That shadowy figure looked a lot like a certain goddess.

The result of this fight was…


	7. Results

While they were on their way, Kizuna, Hayuru and Yurishia heard loud sounds, as if there was someone fighting. Worried about what might be happening, the trio started running to where Odin was.

Once they reached the arena-looking place, they found…

"You're late!"

The goddess, Odin, shouted at them as soon as they appeared. She then said "I also noticed when you and your friends entered my world as well, though it seems you have different intentions than this guy" she said, which also served as an explanation of why it seemed like she was expecting Kizuna and the others.

Behind the goddess was the mysterious man that they had seen take Hokuto's power. However, right now, that man had his chest pierced by a twin headed dragon's claws.

Although there was a bit of blood on Odin, she didn't look hurt, so it was probably the man's blood.

"H-hum, excuse me, but what happened here?"

"There's no reason for you to be so stiff. What I respect is strength, not money, birth, class or whatever, so you can talk to me normally. And if you're asking about him, well, in short, he came to attack me, but my pet Fafnir got him."

She said as if it was nothing, so Kizuna and the others didn't even know how to react.

"W-well, to be honest, we had originally come here to warn you about that man and to ask for your help, but it looks like the warning isn't needed anymore."

Odin looked a bit surprised after hearing Kizuna. If it had to be compared, it was like the look one has when they walk into a surprise party that was being prepared for themselves.

"Oh, sorry about that. You listening? You should have come about five minutes later, now you wasted their trip. Hey, you still alive?"

Odin poked at the man with the backside of her lance. It looked like he was still alive, but he must have been really beaten up to the point where he couldn't even show his pain.

Then, Odin approached Kizuna and company. She looked at them for a bit and then said.

"I feel the presence of other gods in you three. Osiris is one of the strongest, but there's also one I don't recognize and a very weak one I think I know. If I had to guess, you're all from the world Thanatos just got, Osiris must have helped you all escape and now you're here to ask my help to fight Thanatos. How many points for that?"

Kizuna was too surprised to answer, so Yurishia and Hayuru took the reins.

"That's actually pretty accurate."

"How did you figure all that?"

"I've known Osiris for a while, so I can somewhat guess what she would do. And, if it comes to battle, I'd be pretty pissed if I wasn't invited for this and might have gone to mess with her plans. But well, she did ask you all to get me, didn't she? So you shouldn't have to worry about fighting me, for now."

No one knew how to react. Osiris had told them that Odin was a bit of a battle maniac, but they didn't expect it to go to such length.

Since everyone was silent, Odin continued talking.

"Well, you all got yourselves a deal. I'll help you to fight Thanatos, so let's get going."

"A-ah, wait. That man, he did something to a goddess called Hokuto and she has yet to regain consciousness, so we'd like to take him to see if we could help her."

That was something Nayuta and Osiris had asked them. If, by chance, they happened to find any clues leading to the mysterious man, they should bring it back to the ship so they could analyze it. There's no better clue than the person himself.

"Oh, Hokuto is it? I also know her. The girl became a goddess while she was still young, so she has a lot of room to grow and become stronger, so I'll help you with that as well."

Odin gave Fafnir an order to follow them and she started walking. Kizuna and company decided to follow her.

But strangely, they only heard Fafnir giving one step.

What they heard next was the sound of something big being thrown and of a wall being smashed.

"Hoh, now this looks interesting."

Odin said and turned around. In the time it took for Kizuna, Yurishia and Hayuru to turn around, Odin got between them and the man.

The man coughed some blood and spit it on the ground, and then faced the goddess.

"I'm not going to be taken, and I'm not leaving without your power either."

Although the man had holes in his torso, he still got in a fighting position. Odin readied her lance and said "so be it."

Kizuna and the girls could only notice it a bit, while Odin seemed to notice it perfectly, but there seemed to be some kind out aura being released from the man. Odin could clearly tell he was much stronger than before.

"Ha!"

Odin rushed forward in a flash. Her figure disappeared and reappeared next to the man.

She thrusted her lance forward, trying to pierce the man. It was a simple attack, but it was just supposed to test his current level.

"Guh!"

But he just stood there. He stood there and took the attack.

"What?"

"Got you!"

Because of Odin's attack, they were now at a distance the man's arm could reach.

The man readied his arm, which soon pierced Odin's chest, just like it had done Hokuto's. There was no blood, but there was something like a ball of light on the man's hand. Most likely than not, that glowing ball of light, which kept growing by the second, was Odin's power.

Seeing this, Kizuna couldn't just stand by.

"Shit, we have to help!"

Kizuna quickly equipped his Eros. He ran as fast as he could and tried to get the two away.

Unlike how it had been with Hokuto, Odin wasn't just screaming in pain. Truth be told, she was also feeling immense pain, but, due to having experienced many battles, Odin was still able to act.

She readied her lance and tried to attack them man once again. This time, he was forced to let go of her and had to dodge. However, he dodged right into Kizuna's trajectory.

For some reason, Kizuna felt like Eros was showing more power than usual, he got there before he could notice and landed a kick stronger than he had thought to the man's face.

"Gah! Damn Eros! I got so little out, but it'll help."

The man absorbed the ball of light that was in his hand. The next second, the holes in his chest started closing and they could clearly tell his power had increased.

Odin, who Kizuna was helping stay on her feet by lending her his shoulder, looked at that and said.

"I think he got a bit of my regenerative powers, he might have also gotten something else. He's damn annoying."

Before anyone could do anything else, Yurishia was already equipped with Cross and kept shooting the man before he could completely recover. Hayuru also equipped Neros and was using the Blades in order to attack the man as well.

Kizuna, still helping Odin, retreated back to where Yurishia and Hayuru were. Odin didn't look like she would be losing her consciousness, probably thanks to quickly getting away from the man.

"Kizuna, take Odin and go to the ship."

"We'll handle this guy."

Kizuna knew that was the correct thing to do, but he didn't want to leave them.

"No way! I won't leave you two here!"

"Hahaha! Well said boy. Listen here."

After laughing, Odin whispered something into Kizuna's ear. Whatever she said, Kizuna nodded in agreement.

"Then hold be tight boy. We're going for a trip."

Next, Kizuna and Odin started flying. Given the speed, Odin was probably giving Kizuna some help.

In the second they were distracted, the man said to the girls.

"You know, I can kill both of you if I want. And I'm quite mad, so I might just do it."

Even hearing that, Hayuru just readied her sword, showing her will to fight hadn't diminished.

"That seems to be true. Even so… right?"

Yurishia aimed all her canons towards the man.

"Right. You always see it in movies and whatnot, when there's a fight and the man lets the girl escape by sacrificing himself. Girls can also do that, you know. And we don't really plan to die, but we can't let you get to the goddess."

Yurishia shot the man, aiming for the face. He was able to dodge the beam and went towards Hayuru, who intercepted him with her sword.

The man stopped Hayuru's sword with his hand. He then tried to raise her by the sword, but Hayuru let go and attacked with the Blades. He was pierced by the Blades, but managed to land a punch in Hayuru's face.

"Gah! Hhun."

"Hayuru!"

The punch was clearly stronger than the one he had landed on Odin before. This one held enough strength to knock out Hayuru.

Yurishia took some shots to call the man's attention. He quickly closed the distance between them, but Yurishia hit him with shots from her Differential Frames.

The man lost both of his arms due to Yurishia's Differential Frames, but he still headbutted her. Blood came from both of their foreheads.

The man's arms regenerated in a second. While Yurishia was still recovering, the man grabbed her by the neck and started choking her.

He coughed some more blood, even though he hadn't taken damage, and then said.

"Told you I'd kill you."

"-!-!"

The man was holding her neck with such strength that Yurishia's noises were inaudible. He really would have killed her, should the following not have happened.

""Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!""

Kizuna and Odin came back. They were flying as fast as they could and had Gungnir aimed towards the man.

Since Yurishia was so close, they couldn't hit the man like they had planned, but they only aimed a little to the side and were able to force the two apart. The lance scraped the man's left elbow and, due to pure strength and speed, pulled out his left arm.

Odin released Kizuna at the right time so she could cover Yurishia. Kizuna held Gungnir and hit the man. Both Kizuna and the man got throw a few meters from the female group.

"Go now boy!"

"Leave it to me!"

Using all he had, Kizuna put his thrusters at max capacity. He then put everything he had on this attack.

"This is for what you did to Hayuru and Yurishia!"

"Gah-ffuu!"

Kizuna hit the man square in the face with so much strength he felt like he might break his own hand, but Kizuna still felt he had been too light. The man was thrown away a few meters more and he barely had any strength left.

That man already had a face that made him look like a sick person, but he looked even "sicker" now. It was like he went from having a cold to getting some kind of infection. Was this because of the power-up?

"Aaa-aaaahh! Damn it, Eros! My arm! I'll get my revenge. If it's come to this, I'll use it again!"

The man got ready to continue fighting. If he wanted to continue, so would Kizuna. Kizuna got in position and the man also assumed his stance as his arm regenerated.

However, it was as if time had stopped. Kizuna thought he saw someone picking up the mysterious man and taking him away, and the next thing he noticed, the man was nowhere to be seen.

"What? Odin, did-?"

"Yeah, I think I saw it too. Anyway, come on, let's get going before more stuff happens."

A few hours passed. Everyone got back to the ship. Yurishia and Hayuru were send to the infirmary. Although they weren't gravely hurt, they spend the rest of the day resting. Odin met with Nayuta and Osiris, who explained everything that had happened until now.

As for Kizuna, after he rested a bit, he was invited to join Reiri, his mother and the goddesses in the command room.

"Well now, with all that happened, we can be sure that man is behind Hokuto's current state. Moreover, we now have more reasons to not let him get to Thanatos, since we're now sure he can take her powers."

It had already been mentioned a few times, but Thanatos was the strongest goddess, at least as far as they knew, so they couldn't let her powers fall into the wrong hands.

Reiri took over for Nayuta.

"But, she told us she would attack the next time we see each other. We have to meet her to warn her, but she'll easily kill us if she wants."

"About that, I was talking with your mother, boy, and she told me about your powers. I'll leave my commentary for another time, though I'll say I was quite interested." Nayuta nodded saying "I know how it is", Odin then continued talking. "If you power up enough, shouldn't you be able to at least handle taking a few punches? You can talk while she beats you up."

Osiris, who was listening attentively, also gave her opinion.

"I was in the infirmary with Yurishia, so I missed that explanation on your powers, but it got me curious now. Anyway, that plan should work. Thanatos isn't unreasonable, so, as long as you show that you just want to help her, she should listen, I think."

Listening to all this, Kizuna didn't feel exactly safe, but it was the only plan available.

"I guess I have no choice, huh."

"No, you don't, my son. And don't pretend you don't enjoy it. In any case, let's spend some time preparing. Odin, I'd like to run some tests on you to see the difference between yours and Hokuto's condition and to check just how much power you lost."

"Fine by me."

And with that, the five that were on the room started going their separate ways. Osiris said she was going to go take a look at how everyone was doing, though Kizuna knew she only wanted to check on Yurishia.

Finally, there was only Kizuna and Reiri left.

"Are you feeling nervous? Or maybe worried?"

"A-ah. I guess a little bit of both. I'm nervous that I'll have to face Thanatos and worried for what might happen. But I'm also thinking about today's fight. When I saw that man hitting Hayuru and choking Yurishia, I just felt so much rage. I think I would have rather he do that to me than to them."

"That's just your feelings for these girls coming out. Jeez, you're making this so complicated."

Kizuna laughed at what his sister said. It's true. These kinds of things always look much simpler from a third person's perspective.

Reiri then walked up to Kizuna. She then hugged his head on her chest. Although Kizuna tried to not focus on it, Reiri's breasts felt like pillows he was resting his head on.

"But really, thank goodness you came back alright from that. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my little brother."

"Nee-chan…"

Kizuna hugged his sister back. Considering she doesn't usually show this kind of emotion, Reiri must have been really worried this time.

She was being honest, but that was also the case for a lot of people. Without noticing, Kizuna became important for a lot of people. Should he die, it's not unreasonable to think most of this team would be shaken up.

After a little bit, Reiri let Kizuna go. She then told him to go rest.

Once Kizuna left, Reiri put her hands on her chest. She put them where Kizuna's head was just a little ago.

Reiri thought about what she was feeling as she touched that place. There was a warm feeling Reiri hadn't felt before.

"What is this?"

Although Reiri talked about Kizuna and the girls' feelings, she herself didn't know what her feelings were.


	8. Before The End

Just like they had planned, today, Kizuna was going to do as many Heart Hybrids as possible so that he could store as much energy as possible to "fight" Thanatos. Well, actually, he just wanted to talk.

Kizuna was being escorted by Nayuta to where the whole thing would take place.

"I took over part of the ship and altered it a bit, making another version of the Love Room. I'm sure you'll like it, it can do just about anything."

After a little more walking, they reached the place Nayuta was talking about. The new Love Room. Kizuna asked "here?" and Nayuta answered "yup."

Nayuta then turned towards Kizuna. She looked at him and then said.

"Well, this is it. Go have fun. Just don't get anyone pregnant… or do, maybe that'll be another power-up? It's worth looking into, given past history."

"H-haha, I-I'd rather not. W-well, I-I'll go there fill Eros with as much energy as possible so that I can defend against Thanatos' attacks."

"Yeah yeah, let's go with that."

Nayuta said as she was starting to walk away. After taking in both courage and air, Kizuna entered the Love Room.

Meanwhile, in the command room Nayuta was heading to.

"Damn it. I have to let these girls, still wet behind the ears, do all kinds of things with him."

[Reiri, I don't think you should be drinking so early.]

Although Kei was talking with Reiri, Odin was the one to respond.

"Don't worry. She's just accompanying me. Besides, I've heard this Heart Hybrid thing is quite the spectacle, so what better way to watch it than drinking?"

Odin and Reiri hit their cups in cheers. It was normal protocol, but Kei decided it was best to cut the video image of the Love Room once it started.

"By the way, aren't you going?"

Reiri asked Grace, who was sitting just a little further away from them. Nayuta who had just entered the room, was the one to answer.

"Considering all the aspects of the Connective Hybrid, I thought it would be best if Grace was left out this time. Sorry for this."

"No problem. Besides, I and my nee-sama must be the closest to nii-sama, so it's best if the others also get a chance to get close to him."

Reiri didn't even try to hold back her laughter. She then shouted.

"Kei, show this child the recordings of the Heart Hybrids Kizuna did during the AU war. Especially the ones after he escaped from Vatlantis and then ask her to rethink those standards."

[Yours as well?]

Reiri nearly choked when Kei ironically asked that. Nayuta simply went "oh my, maybe I really should force a situation where I have to do Heart Hybrid" and Odin simply laughed out loud.

[Professor Nayuta, where is Osiris?]

"Oh, she said she didn't want to watch, so she must be somewhere else. In any case, I want to watch it, so let's see it."

Nayuta, and then everyone, turned their attention to the screen that was showing what was happening in the Love Room.

As soon as Kizuna entered the Love Room, he could already see his partners. The members of Amaterasu, Aine, Hayuru and Yurishia.

They were sitting on the bed in the middle of the room. Even in the default state, this version of the Love Room already had some items in it.

Kizuna approached them. All four of them were already wearing their pilot suits, as they were supposed to use all the time they had until they reached Thanatos. For some reason, Kizuna had the feeling the suits were sticking more to the girls' skin today.

"H-hey."

They answered his greeting, but there was just silence after that. For some reason, Kizuna didn't know how to start today.

After a little bit, Aine got up and said.

"I guess this is our first time doing this as Amaterasu… though I guess Sylvia isn't here. As the main wife, if no one's going to start, then I will."

As she said that, Aine wrapped her arms around Kizuna's neck and then gave him a kiss, probably the deepest one he had received to date. Kizuna should have said something about the "main wife" thing, but decided it was best to let it pass.

Yurishia then grabbed Kizuna's hand and put it over her breast. Hayuru looked like she was about to grab Kizuna's other hand, but gave up halfway. Even so, Aine took Kizuna's hand and put it on Hayuru's thigh.

Still holding Kizuna's hand to her chest, Yurishia said.

"Now then, Kizuna, you know how to follow up, right?"

"… Yeah. Sorry for making you girls wait."

Saying that, it was Kizuna's turn to kiss Aine. At the same time, he groped Yurishia's breast and touched Hayuru's thigh, purposefully putting his thumb near her intimate place, even poking it at times.

The girls were happy with this, but this was only a warm up.

Yurishia and Hayuru started taking off Kizuna's pilot suit, Aine said "let's not get these dirty" as she continued kissing Kizuna. She then switched places with Kizuna as she laid him on the bed and they finished taking off his clothes, leaving Kizuna completely exposed to the girls.

Seeing Kizuna's naked figure, Hayuru gulped as Aine and Yurishia just kept fixed gazes. It was then that Yurishia noticed something.

"Oh, is this the first time Hayuru is seeing Kizuna naked?"

"W-what? N-no! T-there was that time in the changing room."

"That doesn't count, you didn't take a good look. I've seen him once, during the Connective Hybrid with Scarlet."

"Oh, it's the first I'm hearing about this changing room incident. As for me, I've seen it twice. Once alone during the AU war and another time with Grace after the war ended."

Yurishia and Aine were eyeing each other with intense rivalry, while Hayuru felt kinda left out. As a side note, Hayuru kept switching between looking at Kizuna and making sure the other two didn't jump at the other's neck.

But Hayuru saw an opportunity in this. She was clearly behind the other two, so why not take advantage while they are distracted?

As Aine and Yurishia were "discussing" a few things, Hayuru got up on the bed with Kizuna. She laid beside him and looked into his eyes.

"Kizuna, I-I…"

But he didn't have to make her say it. Knowing what she wanted, he had no reason to make her say it.

Kizuna gave Hayuru a kiss. She opened her mouth to let him come in deeper. However, Kizuna ended the kiss after only a few seconds and asked something of Hayuru.

"Hayuru, can you show me?"

She knew what he meant and, surprising even herself, she didn't hesitate.

Hayuru started taking off her pilot suit. Before she exposed her breasts, Hayuru turned her back toward Kizuna and only then finished taking off her clothes.

Kizuna came up behind Hayuru before she could get ready. He then hugged her from behind and grabbed her breasts at the same time.

"W-wa, nn!"

"Hayuru, you don't have to be shy about your body. Isn't that right, Aine, Yurishia?"

The two that Hayuru had thought were too busy to notice her were now looking directly at her. Yurishia said.

"Yes. You've got a lovely figure, Hayuru. Aine, why don't you say something?"

Aine was the one who usually teased Hayuru about her breasts, so her words would probably have the most impact.

"I guess we are in the middle of a Connective Hybrid right now. I suppose that the case isn't that Hayuru is bad, is that we're too good. … Ok, I'll stop. Hayuru, puff your chest with pride. Me, Yurishia, Grace, and everyone else recognize you as our rival in love."

Then, both Yurishia and Aine started groping Hayuru's chest. She couldn't hold back her moans. While the girls focused mostly on her nipples, Kizuna massaged both of her breasts. Feeling Kizuna's hard thing pressing against her butt also didn't help.

Yurishia then said that they should leave Hayuru's breasts to Kizuna so that they might grow more. Aine then suggested they check down low.

With that objective, they spread Hayuru's legs. Aine was the first to commend and Yurishia followed.

"Look at these thighs. They feel so nice to touch and her skin in so smoot."

"But check out this place. Looks like Hayuru is expecting something here. I wonder what could it be."

"Nnn! D-don't look. Aaannn!"

Aine and Yurishia were playing with her. Hayuru thought her only ally was Kizuna, but she was soon betrayed.

Instead of helping her hold on by taking things slow, Kizuna groped Hayuru's breasts even more. It took him no effort to make her reach climax.

"-! Nnn! Aaaaa!"

Yurishia and Aine observed the state of Hayuru's place. They had already felt such pleasure before, but never guessed that that was how it looked.

Seeing Hayuru was out of strength, Aine and Yurishia helped her lay down to rest. Even so, they didn't plan to let Kizuna rest.

"Well now, since we're here…"

"Yes. Kizuna, what to you say about using these for you?"

After saying that, both Aine and Yurishia exposed their breasts. And of course, when Yurishia talked about "using these for Kizuna", she meant…

Aine from one side and Yurishia from the other, they both pressed their breasts together, trapping Kizuna's member in the middle. They both looked at Kizuna's face, which couldn't hide his pleasure, and started moving them up and down.

"A-a, u-um."

"Mm, how is it, Kizuna?"

"If you say you like it, we can keep doing it."

"Yeah. This feels really good, so keep going."

Hearing that, there was no way Aine and Yurishia wouldn't keep going.

Although Yurishia's breasts were fairly bigger than Aine's, Kizuna was getting to feel both of them equally. His rod between them, even if he had his eyes closed, Kizuna would still be able to tell who was on which side.

The difference between their skins. The difference in the elasticity of their breasts. The difference in how they moved them. Kizuna was getting to know both Aine and Yurishia by those aspects.

But of course, they weren't the only ones there.

"I, won't stay, behind."

Hayuru got up and approached the other two. Normally, she would have called them "indecent" and stopped them. But right now, the light in Hayuru's eyes showed she was just a girl who wanted to do these things with the boy she liked.

She stopped to think for a second, but soon reached a conclusion. A conclusion about how she could pleasure Kizuna in this situation. Hayuru's face approached that which was trapped between the breasts.

Then, she took out her tongue and started licking its tip as if it was a popsicle.

"Ah! Mmm!"

"Mnmn~ Kizuna, am I doing good?"

Facing an unexpected question from an unexpected person, Kizuna could only answer honestly.

"Yeah, really good. I feel like I'm about to cum."

Hayuru continued doing what she was doing. Yurishia and Aine were also surprised at her actions.

"Wow, so Hayuru can do it as well, huh. Oh, and also, Kizuna~"

"We'll make you feel good, the three of us together."

Hayuru's tongue worked on Kizuna's tip, her saliva made it easier for the other two to move. At the same time, he was being sandwiched between Aine and Yurishia, making him feel like he was in some kind of marshmallow.

No matter how much he tried to hold back, he felt like he was going to burst. Of course, that was what the girls wanted him to do. If even Hayuru, who normally said she hated these lewd things, was wrapping her tongue around his tip, why should Kizuna hold back?

"A-aahh! C-cumming!"

Kizuna let out his load, covering Aine and Yurishia's breasts. Some even got on Hayuru's face and tongue. Although Hayuru seemed to find the taste strange at first, she drank what got on her tongue.

"Oh~ Hayuru looks so lewd with her face covered with cum."

"Yeah. I wonder what the people of the discipline committee would think if they saw her like this."

Yurishia and Aine teased Hayuru a bit more. But this time, Hayuru also had something to say.

"W-what about you two? You two don't look exactly presentable with your breasts covered in Kizuna's… stuff."

They looked like they were ready to tease Hayuru even more, but Kizuna decided to give Hayuru some help this time.

He took advantage that Aine and Yurishia had their backs turned to him, so he approached them from behind. Then, he put his hand on each of their butts and started massaging them.

"Mm!"

"N,n!"

"Now now, we're not done yet. Hayuru, can you help me take their clothes off?"

"… Yes."

There was a hint of malice in Hayuru's eyes, so Aine and Yurishia had chills send down their spines.

They had exposed their breasts, but they hadn't completely taken off their pilot suits. So it was now Hayuru's job to get them naked.

Hayuru decided to start with Yurishia. She first took off the stockings and then the parts that covered the arms. Next, she finished taking off the chest piece and started bringing it all down.

However, when it got to taking off the panties part of the pilot suit, Hayuru started moving more slowly. She wasn't hesitant, she just wanted to enjoy the moment. In a little while, Yurishia's intimate place became exposed.

"Oh, look at this place. Are you expecting something, Yurishia?"

"Nn~ don't touch that place-aaa!"

Hayuru played with Yurishia's place as revenge for what she had done earlier, but soon moved on to Aine.

Aine's pilot suit was mostly a one-piece, so, after taking off the stockings and arm parts, it became fairly simple to take off.

"W-wait, Hayuru. I-I know I've teased you a lot and all, but… let me do it, yeah. I want to take them off myself. You know, a bit of service for Kizuna."

"No can do. But I'll help you with the service part."

Although Aine was trying to hold Hayuru's arm, she still managed to take off her clothes. And everyone soon noticed why Aine didn't want Hayuru to take her clothes off.

If Hayuru and Yurishia had been "expectant", Aine was more on the "couldn't wait" side. There were wet strings connecting the pilot suit to Aine's place. Aine clearly was the one who wanted this the most.

"Nn,mm."

"W-wow. Just, wow."

Hayuru had thought about getting back at Aine, but didn't even know how to react.

Deciding it was best to move on, Kizuna told Aine and Yurishia to lie down. Once they did, he put his hands over their special places and started playing with them. Hayuru positioned herself between them and Kizuna so that she could also play.

Hayuru groped their breasts while Kizuna wet his fingers and messed with their silver and blond bushes. After touching their buds, Kizuna started teasing their entrances until he finally put his finger in.

"Ann!"

"Mm~"

Hayuru continued groping them. She had to admit, she enjoyed seeing the looks of pleasure in their faces. And their breasts also felt good to touch.

"Now, it's time both of you feel good."

"Oh, maybe you haven't noticed?"

"Hayuru, you do know who is behind you and what he's doing, right?"

"Eh? A-aaan!"

Kizuna inserted his member between Hayuru's legs. His rod passed by her wet place and came out on the other side. Hayuru unintentionally closed her legs, trapping Kizuna between her thighs.

She then looked back at Kizuna, as if asking him what he was doing.

"Well, I have to make you three reach climax at the same time, right?"

Before Hayuru could even voice anything, the other two told Kizuna to go ahead, and so he did. He started moving his fingers inside Yurishia and Aine as he moved his hips back and forward, rubbing against Hayuru.

Wet sounds came from all three of them, but Hayuru and Aine were competing for the loudest. Seems like Hayuru got on the same state as Aine already was. Meanwhile, albeit more silently than the others, Yurishia's walls tightened around Kizuna's finger, enjoying this pleasure.

Hayuru decided to continue massaging their breasts. By her movements, one might guess she was comparing Aine's and Yurishia's. But in truth, she was doing that to hide the pleasure she was feeling. She never imagined it would feel so good like this, and she was a bit worried she might like it from behind a little more than normal.

"Nnn~"

"Aaannmm!"

"Y-you two, aaa, are r-really lewd~ mmm~"

"Hayuru, you're barely able to talk. If you like it that much, I can do even better."

Kizuna whispered that in Hayuru's ear. For a second, she almost answered "please do it" but managed to hold herself back at the last second. But of course, everyone noticed it.

"Even though we were only watching until now, we're already close to coming. How about you Hayuru? -! Mmnnnaa!"

"You think Hayuru is lewd enough to cum twice? -! Aaan!"

Taking advantage of when their guards were low, Kizuna got a bit rougher with his fingers. Of course, he also sped up with Hayuru as well. He knew they were all close to climax, but received one last unexpected surprised before it came.

"Ah! Jeez, alright I'll say it. I also like doing these things with Kizuna. I also like it! So please, keep going!"

"Hayuru… of course. I'll make the three of you cum now."

Pushing his fingers as deep as possible and also thrusting as hard as he could. Maybe due to all the Heart Hybrid he had done until now, Kizuna was able to make them climax fairly easily. Their bodies emitted an aura, which then mixed together, signaling the Connective Hybrid was successful.

"""A-aaaannmmmmmmmmmm!mmMmmm!NnaaAaaaa!"""

Their bodies made no effort to hide it. Not only did their juices came flowing out, their bodies lightly shook due to pleasure. Hayuru, who had been keeping herself up, lost her strength and fell between Aine and Yurishia.

The Connective Hybrid was successful, but there was still a lot of time before reaching Thanatos, so it would be for the best they continued. Kizuna thought about asking the girls if they wanted to continue and what they would like to do. They had yet to activate the Love Room, and Kizuna had a few personal things he'd like to try if they agreed.

Lost in his own thoughts, Kizuna failed to noticed how they recovered and approached him. He only noticed when they started licking his thing.

"Wa-aah! What?"

"Kizuna, just now, you didn't cum."

"We can't have that."

"Kizuna needs to feel good as well."

Their eyes filled with lust, they were all licking around his rod. Kizuna never thought such thing would feel so good.

Aine was working around the tip. Hayuru was licking the main body. Yurishia's tongue was tasting the base. Kizuna felt like he really was about to explode.

"W-wait, I-! U-uum!"

Not even having enough time to say anything, Kizuna shot another load. Already expecting it, the girls just stood there and let it land on their faces.

"Now we all look like Hayuru. … Ok, I'll stop for real this time."

Aine was about to comment something more, but decided not to when she noticed no one was hearing.

Yurishia then grabbed the Love Room's control panel. After tapping a few things, she selected a certain place, which the others agreed on as soon as they saw where it was.

They were now in Kizuna's room, or rather, they were still in the Love Room, just it looked like Kizuna's room.

"Now then Kizuna, let's continue. We still have a lot of time."

"I-if Kizuna wants to, I'll keep going."

"Wait, I'm the main wife here, so-"

"Aine."

Yurishia merely called Aine's name and made her stop. Aine pouted a bit, but decided to let it pass.

Then, the three of the approached Kizuna. He received a kiss from each one and then they said.

"""We love you. Don't you think about going away."""

Kizuna nodded. He felt it deep in his heart, that he didn't want to ever leave them… but there was also something else, like he had just made a promise he wouldn't be able to keep, but Kizuna decided to not pay it any mind.

And so, they started going again. This time, in Kizuna's room.

By the time they were finished, Kizuna's Eros was so overcharged that being able to hold back a few of Thanatos' attacks wasn't just something possible in theory.


	9. End

Kizuna was feeling like he was about to burst with so much energy in him. He probably still couldn't fight a god, but he could at least not be defeated in the first punch.

"Alright, let's do this."

Kizuna gave the OK sign. Then, the Valtantis Imperial battleship send him to the world Thanatos was holding captive, Kizuna and the others' world.

That was their plan. They would keep the ship and everyone else outside the world, but would send Kizuna in so he could talk with Thanatos. In case something happened, either Odin or Osiris would give support.

As soon as they had confirmed a successful entrance, Kizuna started flying, looking for Thanatos. It didn't take long for Thanatos to appear in front of him. Still just as beautiful and imposing as when they first met, Thanatos said.

"I thought I told you all to not come back, otherwise, I'd kill you all."

"Thanatos, listen, there's-!"

She didn't even let him finish. Thanatos just held her mechanical-looking arm towards Kizuna and fired at him.

Kizuna put all he had into defending, and his barrier was only barely able to hold out. Thankfully, he didn't have to fight her for real, because if he had, this would already be a lost cause.

"Listen! We came back because-"

"I know why you came back. I can feel the presence of other gods near this world, so I'm assuming they'll fight me. I don't know why they aren't here yet, but it doesn't matter. I won't lose, not when I'm so close."

Thanatos picked Kizuna and then threw him in some direction. After hitting multiple things, which Kizuna couldn't even confirm what they were, he finally came to a stop.

Blood was starting to spread everywhere. It was more than clear Kizuna wouldn't be able to take much more of this even with so much energy inside Eros.

"In any case, I dislike violence, so I'll give you one last chance. You and everyone you brought have to go away from this world. If you do that, I promise to stop this and maybe you will all be able to come back one day."

Kizuna was having trouble getting up. Although he technically hadn't been hit, just the impact that was transmitted from the barrier to him was enough to leave him like that.

[Kizuna, respond. Are you fine?]

[I'm fine. I'm almost getting the chance of talking with Thanatos.]

Looking at him, Thanatos decided to pick him up and then take him to a certain place. A place Kizuna should recognize.

"This is your city. Remember how it was before?"

"T-this is… Ataraxia?"

What Kizuna saw was a beautiful city that seemed to be on the verge of technology. Near the end of the AU war, the Ataraxia float had been destroyed, but it looks like it had been rebuilt under Thanatos.

Although Kizuna wasn't an expert, it seemed like it was even more technological than before. Thanatos then brought Kizuna back to the ground and put him on his feet.

"I can feel her presence, so Osiris has probably already told you what my objective is. She always worries about stuff as if she's everyone's mom. Anyway, you should know that I don't mean any harm to your people. There's nothing for anyone to lose with this."

Kizuna put his hand on Thanatos' shoulder. It was just to help him keep his balance, but it seems it surprised Thanatos.

"This is for your own good. There is someone, a man, that has been after the gods and their powers. I know he's gotten Hokuto's and took some of Odin's powers, so I'm here to warn you."

"What? What is he like?"

"Now that I think about it, he has similar features to you. Has blond hair and blue eyes. His face, it looks like he's sick or something. He's about my height."

"I can't say I've ever met him, but, for some reason, I can't make myself think you're lying. I have a bad feeling about this, so I'll-"

Then, from both far and close, they started hearing sounds of explosions. They could see dust coming up from multiple places and could hear the screams of the people.

"What is this?"

[Kizuna, Kizuna, what's going on down there? We're catching explosions in both worlds, but it's not just that.]

[I don't know, but I have a feeling we should get ready to evacuate the people.]

[What? Evacuate both worlds? There's no… wait… the goddesses are saying it's possible. They're going to get ready.]

After hearing from Reiri, Kizuna felt somewhat relieved. He didn't know what these explosions were, but something told him he had to get the people to safety. Surprisingly, Thanatos seemed to have the same feeling.

Thanatos was about to fly away when Kizuna called out to her.

"Wait, let me help."

"… I have a bad feeling about leave you here, so I guess I should take you along. Let me heal you first then."

With just one touch of Thanatos metallic hand, Kizuna felt like he was completely healed. Even the Heart Hybrid Gear's systems showed he was on top condition.

Then, they started flying. Kizuna and Thanatos were helping the people they saw. With Thanatos' power, it didn't even feel like an emergency, as she was easily healing any wounded and helping whoever she found.

However, yes, both Kizuna and Thanatos had the same feeling. It was a feeling like the opponent was approaching ever so closer. At some point, for some reason, both of them just decided to head somewhere.

And, amidst the chaos in that place, was…

No one. There was no one there.

Thanatos was about to turn around and go back, but then, something impaled her.

"Guh!"

"Sorry, but you alone I can't let live."

When Kizuna noticed, the mysterious man who had been taking the gods' powers was there. He had shoved a sword through Thanatos' lower abdomen, her blood spilling everywhere.

The next second, the man put his hand through Thanatos' chest. He was stealing her powers, just like he had done with other gods before.

"God damn it! Everyone, get away from here!"

Kizuna shouted so that the people nearby would run away. If this would be anything like it was in Odin's world, then he couldn't let normal people come close.

"Can't afford to let you interfere this time, Eros. You lot hear me? Break everything you can, destroy both worlds if you must."

At that moment, the sounds of the explosions got a lot more violent. Instead of rising dust, what appeared from the explosions now were things similar to the Entrances that connected the worlds.

The sky started cracking. It was like the end of the world and, although he couldn't confirm it, Kizuna was sure this was happening both in Lemuria and in Vatlantis.

The man, trying to buy as much time as possible, asked Kizuna.

"What will you do, Eros? Are you going to save the people? Or maybe save this goddess? Whatever you do, the clock's ticking."

Kizuna was at a loss over what to do. He couldn't save both, and neither could he choose.

It was at that moment he heard his mother's voice giving him hope.

[Kizuna, listen. Osiris and Odin started evacuating the people. Just get Thanatos and come back to the ship! We don't know what's going on, but you can't stay there much longer.]

[Roger!]

Kizuna immediately rushed towards the man. He was ready to fight, and so was the man.

"Damn, can't you make it easy for me?"

The man took his sword from Thanatos' body and swung it in Kizuna's direction. From that attack, Kizuna could tell the man wasn't used to a sword. After observing Hayuru for so long, Kizuna wouldn't be hit by something like that.

After dodging, Kizuna easily hit the man, who couldn't dodge properly as his arm was still going through Thanatos. Using Zeros' strength, Kizuna's punch dug into the man's face.

And at the same time…

"Guh! What are you doing, stupid goddess?!"

"I'm not going to just sit here!"

Thanatos used her big arms to grab the man's head. She was using whatever strength she had to put pressure on his head and Kizuna was using this chance to hit him.

Then, Kizuna was going to summon a sword, like Hayuru's. Before anything, he had to get the man apart from Thanatos.

But, before Kizuna could cut the man…

"Nn, gah!"

"Got everything. Now, I do recall I owe you a little something, Eros!"

The man took his hand from Thanatos' chest and absorbed her power. Thanatos apparently lost all her strength and couldn't keep her hold on the man.

Then, he took his sword and swung with all his strength towards Kizuna's left arm. Although the man wasn't experienced with the sword, the pure strength was enough to make a shockwave in that direction.

And of course, Kizuna's arm was on the way, and it came flying off.

"Gguuh-aaaaaa!"

"Hurts, doesn't it?!"

The man shoved his sword through Kizuna's body. Unsatisfied, he kept hitting Kizuna. Once the man was done, Kizuna was no more than a bloody mess. Kizuna's face was unrecognizable and the rest of his body wasn't in a much better condition.

"Phew, got a little worked up there. Still, how poetic is it that you two will die side by side like this. Maybe if you had met under different circumstances… well, maybe you two can get to know each other better while you lie there."

Kizuna's consciousness only lasted enough for him to hear the man calling back the attack, saying he had completed his mission and that they should leave before the world got too unstable.

[-na! Ki-na! Kizuna! Please, say something!]

Kizuna came to, hearing his mother calling him. He wanted to answer, but he couldn't pull the strength to.

Kizuna used his remaining arm to check on Thanatos' condition. It seems she's still alive. As for Kizuna himself… he had lost an arm, his chest had been pierced and he was bleeding a lot. There was probably no saving him.

'But Thanatos can still…'

[Kizuna, if you can hear this, we evacuated both worlds. They took too much damage and are too unstable. If you stay there, you're going to die. Exit through the Entrance near you and we'll pick you up.]

Kizuna somehow mustered the strength to get himself and Thanatos up. He had lost too much blood and couldn't even think straight, but his body still headed for the Entrance he heard from his mother.

It was like something inside Kizuna was saying "don't let Thanatos die. If she dies, then you'll really lose" though he couldn't even properly notice that.

They got near the Entrance. Just a few more steps. But even that felt like too much for him. His body was in no condition to go further.

"At least, you."

Kizuna used all his strength to push Thanatos through the Entrance. If Nayuta and the others were ready to save him, they should also save Thanatos.

But he himself couldn't make it. His strength gave in and his body fell to the ground. There was nothing he could do nor no one to save him.

Kizuna could only lay there… bleeding… until everything turned dark.


	10. Note 1

**How's it going everyone? For some, it might have been a while, for others it might be the first time. In any case, I'm glad you made it here.**

 **You've reached the end of the first batch of chapters of this fanfic (if you're wondering why I'm doing these in batches… it just feels better to me). Did you enjoy it?**

 **For this first batch, I tried focusing more on the story and not so much on what HxH is known for (the rather lewd part) but I hope that one chapter got you guys exited for future scenes. I personally think it wasn't the best I've done, but it wasn't bad either. In any case, I'll try to get back in shape for future batches.**

 **Well, if you've seen my SMNT fanfic, I don't think the story/ecchi ratio is going to get like that, seeing as I want to focus more on the story.**

 **For those that have been here for a while, a nice little piece of trivia you probably already know, this story is just as previously planned. The only difference is that I limited the cast more (but the others are still going to make appearances) and I did in one batch what I planned to do in "a few" originally.**

 **Maybe that's why things might have moved a little too quick, and I also feel like some points, like the whole thing with Grace and all, could have been worked on better, but things should get better from the next batch onwards. I'll be happy if everyone finds it at least decent.**

 **And for those who are new here, I had actually already posted some chapters of this fanfic, but people said it was kinda boring, so I decided to take a step back and try to make things more interesting. Hopefully, I managed to do it (please tell me I did, I don't want to work on all of this again).**

 **Another thing that I changed is that, the story is not as dependent on the Light Novel as it was before. There are still some references to it, but nothing too big I don't think. Well, from now on it should become completely separate from the Light Novel.**

 **In any case, I'd appreciate your guys' reviews on the story. I'll always take them to heart (though, once again, I'd prefer if I didn't have to go for another rewrite).**

 **Well now… I killed the MC, what am I going to do now? Maybe you've guessed it, but I think you got another thing coming.**

 **Just as I've said before, I'll keep posting this story in batches. I won't promise a date, but know that I won't forget this story. You're always free to ask me about it and I won't get mad, but don't exaggerate.**

 **BTW, I've said this in a previous fanfic so I'll say it again, anyone is free to ask me anything and I'll answer as best as I can.**

 **Now then, supposing everything is fine, since this story has been paused for a while, I might try to get a head start on batch 2 so I can post it sometime soon, but I promise nothing.**

 **In any case, I hope to see you again soon.**


	11. A Prologue For The Real Start

The mysterious man who had stolen Thanatos' powers and killed Kizuna was in a place he used as a hideout. That place looked like some kind of big laboratory. He entered a room, and inside, the only thing there was a bed, which he laid down on.

Not long after, a man with gray hair appeared. His hair had that color seemingly from age, yet his body seemed to be on its prime. Although it couldn't be seen, the man's left hand had two scars. One looked like it was caused by some kind of burn while the other looked like something had pierced through his hand.

The man with gray hair put on a lab coat and approached the bed. He then put his hand on top of the other's head and started patting him.

"You did good. Now, there's no one to stop us. Just hold on a little bit more, my child."

"Y-yes. Without both Eros and Thanatos, there's no one who can stop you, so you will cure me, right?"

"Yes. It was of very poor taste for that woman to make you sick like this, so I will atone for your mother's sins."

After that, the man with gray hair left the room so the man who killed Kizuna could rest. The man with grey hair proceeded to walk towards his own room.

Inside was a beautiful blond woman, however it looked like she was asleep. But not like she was just tired, but rather that something as forcing her to sleep. However, the strangest parts were definitely the "vines" holding her up and the fact that she was naked. Moreover, the man didn't seem the least surprised or disturbed, in fact, he thought everything was perfect.

The man laid the woman on his own bed. Then, as he talked, he groped her breasts.

"Your children have started killing each other. If only you have made the right decision back then. … Still no reaction, huh. No matter. You'll eventually have to come out, and, until then, your body is defenseless right in front of me."

The man then placed his lips on top of the woman's and forced his tongue in. There was no reaction, but that didn't stop the man.

Indeed. With Kizuna dead and Thanatos without power, there was simply no one who could stop him.

The only thing Kizuna could feel was someone's touch. He could feel like there was someone's hand holding his right hand. It was a small, soft and seemingly fragile hand, but it was the only thing he could feel.

He couldn't see. He couldn't talk. He couldn't move. He couldn't smell. He couldn't hear. The only thing he could do was feel that hand's touch and nothing else.

Thanks to that, even if just barely, Kizuna kept some form of "consciousness", wherever he is right now. At the time, he didn't know, but it could be said that this hand saved his life.

Since there was nothing else he could do, Kizuna just kept thinking. At first, his head was filled with questions of where he was and what had happened, but now, there's something else in his mind.

As time passed, although one might say these were less important matters, there was one thing his mind focused on, showing how much he cared about it.

'I want to meet them again. Nee-chan, kaa-san. Aine. Yurishia. Hayuru. Grace. Everyone, even Aldea, Zel, Scarlet, Ger-san, really, everyone. I don't want this to be the end. What even happened to them? Last thing I remember I was… I have no idea how much time I've been here, but now I see. This feeling is… There has to be something I can do to go back to everyone... but I feel so… tired…'

However, Kizuna could do nothing. He had no power here. Even this small fragment of consciousness he was keeping was starting to go away. If that "flame" went out, it could never be lit again.

But then, Kizuna felt something else other than that hand's touch. At first, it was something warm, and then it turned into something like an electric current.

It was painful at first, but Kizuna felt like he was slowly coming back to life. His consciousness started coming back.

"Aaa! Gaaahh!"

"Calm down, Kizuna. You're fine now."

With his senses coming back, Kizuna was able to hear this voice. That voice belonged to someone Kizuna met not long ago, Osiris.

"You're probably confused. You'll get back to normal eventually, but for now I'll explain a few things. You might have already guessed it, but you're dead, Kizuna. There's nothing that can be done to change that. You died because of that man."

"W-what? I-I'm dead?"

"Yeah, but I promise I'll bring you back. There will probably be a price for it, but I know a way. The pain of losing a child is something a little too personal for me, and something I don't wish for anyone to go through, and besides, you're too important to let die now."

Osiris helped Kizuna up. His body (or whatever this was. Maybe his soul?) was slowly getting its strength back.

"Come on. Time flows differently here in the land of the dead, so I have no idea how much time you've spend here, but let's get you back soon. There's people waiting for you."

And so, unknown to his enemies, Kizuna was still not done and would soon be coming back.


	12. Coming Back

Get up. Get up and fulfil the mission I have given you.

It is for that reason alone I granted you life once again, so do not fail me.

I shall take your head once you're done.

Suddenly, Kizuna opened his eyes. His heart was beating fast. He was laying down and didn't recognize the place he was at.

"! -na! Kizuna!"

An unfamiliar ceiling. Unfamiliar walls. He had the impression he heard someone call his name, but his brain wasn't working normally yet, so he ended up ignoring it.

Kizuna got up from the bed he was laying down at. He didn't know why or what, but he thought he had to do something quickly, so he ran straight out of the room he was in.

"Ah! W-wait!"

Once again, he had the impression of hearing someone, but it still didn't cross his mind to verify who had said it.

Kizuna ran out of the room, and then out of the house. Once outside, he still didn't recognize where he was at, so he kept running.

As he ran out, he could hear shrieks of women and people screaming. Maybe there were even some pointing at him, but his vision wasn't fully active yet, so most of what he saw was blurred.

"Kyyaaaaa!"

"What's that guy doing?"

"Excuse me. Let me through. Kizuna, come here!"

With everyone around him shouting so much, Kizuna was starting to get a headache, so he ran from that place.

"Ahh, no, not that way. Wait. Kizuna!"

As he continued moving, Kizuna felt his body was starting to get better. Although he was still having trouble recognizing things, his eyes were properly working now, so he was able to dodge everyone on his way as he ran, though they also seemed to be avoiding him. Slowly, his other senses were also coming back.

As he turned a corner, Kizuna heard a female voice saying "what's all this commotion about?" and he was met with a group of six girls as soon as he turned the corner.

"O-oh my."

"B-boss?!"

Kizuna could hear the girls asking if he was fine and why was he like that, but he didn't even think about answering. In fact, although he heard the words, his brain still didn't make sense of what they were saying.

One of the girls had long red hair, another wore glasses. One was short and had black hair with short twintails, another looked like a countryside girl. One looked really sleepy, another had short blond hair. Kizuna felt like he should recognize these girls, but he didn't.

"Kizuna! Hold him there for me!"

Kizuna heard someone shouting behind him. For some reason, once he heard about someone coming for him, Kizuna felt a sense of danger and decided to escape.

The group of girls tried to stop Kizuna, but he dodged them all by going in the space between two houses and getting out on the other side. However, he turned back for a second and saw that a little girl with black hair was following after him and was almost catching up.

"Kizuna, stop!"

The little girl grabbed Kizuna's hand. She then took him somewhere where there were only the two of them. Then, she grabbed his head and hugged it to her chest.

Last, she kept kindly caressing his head as she said.

"It's fine now. You came back. You can calm down now."

Kizuna's breathing had been ragged and he had been panting hard, but he was starting to calm down. His body relaxed as if he was on the most secure place in the universe.

And not long after, he fell asleep like that.

"…! Ah!"

"Easy there. Are you fine now?"

Kizuna heard a voice beside him. He turned his head to check who it was. It was the little girl with back hair that had been with him just now, none other than his mother Nayuta.

"K-kaa-san?"

"Yeah, it's me. You seem to be doing better, but you should rest a little more. I'll bring some people here to we can tell you what happened."

She said that while laying him back down. Then she left the room, but came back not long after.

The ones that entered with her were the goddesses… their names were… Odin and Osiris. Kizuna's memories were slowly coming back.

Nayuta asked Osiris to start explaining, so she did.

"I'll be blunt. Kizuna, you died. You were dead for a week. Normally, there was nothing that could be done about it, but I had something. I asked your mother and Odin to make a new body for you while I went to the land of the dead to get your soul. From the looks of it, I'd say everything ended up fine."

"I was… dead? I-I, don't remember it."

"We went through, err, how should I say it? Quite the journey there. Y-yeah, that's probably it. It's fine if you don't remember, but those memories can come back one day. If they do, come talk to me."

Kizuna had the impression Osiris' face got a little bit red when she talked. Maybe she remembered something? Or it have just been an impression. Nauta then said she asked Osiris about what happened there, but Osiris says she also doesn't remember much.

Although, that was a lie. She actually remembered it, but had many reasons to not say it. That's also why she told Kizuna to talk with her if he remembered them. If he got his memories back, they would deal with it together, but if not, she would deal with it alone.

Known only to Osiris at the current moment, their current problems weren't the only ones.

"What about the others? What happened with everyone?"

"I guess I'll take it from here."

Odin said as she took the lead of the conversation.

"Me and Osiris made a copy of both worlds that were attacked. We evacuated the people there. We also took the liberty of changing everyone's memories a bit so no one panicked. As for where we are right now, along with a copy of both worlds, I made something like a small settlement world to use as a base until we finish dealing with that mysterious man and all. Other than the people that were on the ship, we also got some new personal from both worlds."

"This place is located close to Odin's world, though, since she did make it, I guess you could call it Odin's world as well. Also, other than the people who saw it in the command room, we kept the fact that you were dead a secret. I don't need to tell you who you should visit after you can get up, do I?"

Nayuta added. It's not an exaggeration to say that the group's morale would have dropped significantly if they had heard about Kizuna's death, so it was best to keep it hidden. She also added that they also kept the fact he was getting revived a secret because of the possibility of it not working, that's why there were people Kizuna needed to visit.

"Well, I guess it's time to let the true heroine make her debut. Come in."

Then, the door was opened yet again. The one who came in was a blond woman, Thanatos.

However, there was something different about her. Her face wasn't in it's usually serious expression, but rather a more timid looking one. One more thing, Thanatos had big mechanical-looking arms, but right now, her arms were those of a normal woman.

"Thanatos?"

"H-hum."

Thanatos silently nodded. As soon as she came in the room, Nayuta said.

"We have some things to do, so we'll leave you two alone. You can ask her what you want to know. And don't forget there's people waiting for a visit from you."

Nayuta and the other two goddesses left the room, leaving Kizuna alone with Thanatos.

The three of them walked out. After walking for a bit, before leaving the place they were using as an infirmary, Nayuta stopped in front of Osiris and Odin.

"I have something I need to tell you both."

Odin and Osiris didn't know what Nayuta was talking about, but decided to listen.

Nayuta then got on her knees, put her hands on the ground and lowered her head. Although they couldn't see it, they could tell by her voice that Nayuta was crying.

"Thank you. Thank both of you. It's thanks to both of you help that I got my son back. I can't thank you two enough."

Nayuta was never one to let her emotions affect her actions, but maybe something changed with Kizuna's death. In the end, Nayuta is a mother, and no mother wants bad things for her child.

She had kept her cool in front of Kizuna, but now, she decided it was the best time to thank her benefactors.

Osiris lowered her body and hugged Nayuta, who finished crying on her shoulder. Odin just watched the two of them with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, back in the room with Kizuna and Thanatos.

"… Are you fine?"

"Yeah, thanks to you saving me."

It seems they found it a bit hard to talk after being left alone suddenly like that, but Kizuna was able to get the topic started.

"Why did they say you're the "true heroine"?"

"Oh, apparently, when they found me, I was still holding onto you. Maybe I recovered my consciousness for a bit and tried to help you since you helped me. They say we were holding hands. You were already dead by then, but they were able to revive you later because they found you at that time, at least from what they told me. They also said my arms were already like this when they found me."

Although he didn't exactly remember it, Kizuna thought he felt her holding his hand while he was dead, and that had some importance, but he couldn't remember now. Maybe those memories would come back one day.

"Ah, then I guess I need to thank you."

"N-no, no need. I didn't save you, but you saved me, so if anything I should be the one saying thanks."

Thanatos' face got a bit red at that moment. Kizuna noticed, but decided to not say anything.

"What about your powers?"

"Gone, completely. I'm just a normal girl now. Maybe that's why my arms got like this."

Thanatos' expression got a bit sad. Maybe it's because she had always been a goddess, or maybe it's because she was without any power in a place full of former enemies, but it looked like Thanatos didn't like to be reminded about losing her power.

"Then, how about a deal? I'll find that man and get him for both of us. Maybe there's even a way to get your power back. In exchange, I only want to ask one thing."

"W-what is it?"

Kizuna then came out from under his blanket. He sat on the bed near where Thanatos was standing and then said as he offered his hand.

"I want to become your friend. What do you say?"

"H-hum…"

It was then that Kizuna noticed something. He was feeling quite windy. When he looked at himself, he discovered that that's because he was naked.

So basically, he was naked showing all of himself for Thanatos right now. In the back of his mind, Kizuna asked himself if that had also been the reason why he had heard some girls scream when he had woken up and ran out.

As soon as he noticed that, Kizuna took his blanket and covered himself with it.

"S-sorry about that."

"I-it's fine."

Thanatos was looking away, her face all red.

"But… I'll take your offer."

Before Kizuna could give a reaction, Thanatos left that room.

The following day, Kizuna was already able to leave the bed seemingly without any problems, so he decided it was about time he paid some people a visit. He couldn't stay up for long, but, in the worst case, he could just ask someone to help him.

He had been told where the people he needed to meet where, so he just had to get up and go there. So he left sometime in the afternoon.

His first stop wasn't far from place he had been resting at. Kizuna knocked on the door and heard someone saying "come in" from far away.

He opened the door and proceeded to the place he thought the voice came from, the bedroom. Once there, he met a black haired girl he knew too well. His teammate, Hayuru.

"Kizu,na?"

"Hey… I, hum… I came back."

As soon as she heard that, Hayuru hugged Kizuna as tightly as she could, as if she didn't want to leave any chance of him escaping, but also wanted to confirm if he was real.

Kizuna could see that the room behind Hayuru was a mess. He knew she wasn't like that, so it probably had something to do with his death. Hayuru herself had seen better days, her hair was all messed, her eyes were red and she was still in her sleepwear, but Kizuna didn't mind it one bit as he hugged her.

"Hayuru."

Kizuna said and then raised Hayuru's head by her chin. Then, he kissed her. He made the kiss as deep as he could, and Hayuru allowed him.

After a few seconds, they had to break the kiss to get some air. Hayuru then asked.

"Just, how?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't understand it myself. But I'm here now. Sorry for making you worry."

Hayuru didn't mind it as she continued to hug him. She was just so happy he came back that she didn't even mind things like that.

But, although he wanted to stay, Kizuna had to go now if he wanted to meet everyone. That's why he told Hayuru.

"I came back, and I promise I won't die again. But now, I have to go see the others."

At first, Hayuru seemed like she hadn't understood what he meant. But then she rested her head on his chest and said.

"It's ok. I need to take a shower… and also organize things here, so I'll let you go for now."

After leaving Hayuru with a goodbye kiss, Kizuna went to his next stop.

A little bit further than the place Hayuru was staying at was Kizuna's next destination. After reaching that place, Kizuna knocked on the door and was received by Osiris.

"Come. She's waiting for you in the room."

Kizuna had been told that, after his death, Osiris helped Yurishia deal with what she was feeling. That was coupled with them now having to share this place, so they ended up spending a lot of time together.

From the start, Osiris had an interest in getting close to Yurishia, since she looked like her deceased daughter, but Yurishia found that mostly annoying at the start. However, it seems they grew closer after Kizuna's death, so Yurishia doesn't mind it anymore.

Osiris led Kizuna to the room and then left him alone with Yurishia. Kizuna knocked on the wall to call her attention.

"E-eh?"

"Hey... I'm back."

Yurishia's eyes showed she didn't believe what she was seeing. Maybe it was a dream or some kind of illusion. She rubbed her eyes again and again.

Yurishia's state was similar to Hayuru's. The biggest differences were that Yurishia didn't even bother putting on a proper sleepwear, which left her with just her bra and panties, and the room wasn't as messy, probably because Osiris took care of it.

To show her he was real, Kizuna approached Yurishia and gave her a hug.

"I'm here. For real."

Yurishia tried to hold back, but was unable to. She started silently crying. Kizuna hugged her until she was done.

After that, Yurishia looked into Kizuna's eyes.

"Kizuna… Kizunaaa!"

"W-woah!"

She suddenly threw her body at him. Luckily, they both fell on the bed. Yurishia then started showering Kizuna with kisses, he obviously didn't dislike it. Then, she kissed his lips, which made them enter a passionate kiss.

Although Kizuna's body was in a bit pf pain because of Yurishia on top of him, he was so involved in the kiss that he almost didn't notice.

They probably would have stayed like that for a while if Osiris hadn't come along.

"*cough* Sorry to interrupt, but Kizuna is still recovering, so don't be too rough with him. Since he has other people to see, why don't you take care of yourself in the meantime, Yurishia?"

Yurishia pouted a bit because they were interrupted, but she had to give in. Although she knew Kizuna didn't mind it, she wasn't in the most presentable form and Kizuna needed to rest for a bit.

"Fine. I'll let Kizuna go… but only if you promise me you won't *hic* you won't…"

Yurishia almost cried just from saying it, so there was no reason to force her.

Kizuna kissed Yurishia's lips and then said.

"I promise. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back."

Yurishia, who was on top of Kizuna, got off from him and let him go. After saying his goodbyes, Kizuna went for his second last stop. Osiris went with him part of the way so she could help him rest.

After resting for about an hour, Kizuna continued.

After reaching his stop, Kizuna knocked on the door. He then heard a familiar voice saying "enter", so he did.

Once he came in, Aine received him with a punch to his stomach with all her strength. However, all her strength didn't amount to much at that time and the punch was little more than a tap to his stomach. She then said between sobs.

"I-I knew you'd come back. I knew it."

She didn't let her face be seen by Kizuna, but he could guess what kind of face Aine was making. Not far behind her, he could see Grace, whose eyes were getting watery.

"Nii-sama *sob* nii-sama."

Kizuna took Aine with him as he approached Grace. He then hugged both sisters and placed kisses on top of their heads.

But then he noticed how they were still looking at him. He knew what they wanted.

"Ok. I'll do it properly this time."

Kizuna kissed Aine's lips, and then kissed Grace's. With that, the sisters showed him a happy expression.

"Then, we'll forgive you if you spend the rest of the day with us. You can't refuse."

"Eh?"

Aine "proposed" that to him but didn't really give Kizuna much of a choice. He was having trouble telling her he couldn't stay, but luckily Grace helped him.

"Nee-sama, I'm sure nii-sama can't stay here with us. If he just came back, he must need to rest, or maybe there's something else he has to do."

"Really? Do you have somewhere to be Kizuna?"

"Yeah. I have one more place to go. Then, I'll have to go rest since I'm not fully recovered yet."

Aine puffed her cheeks, but understood Kizuna's situation.

"Alright. We'll take a rain check on that."

"I really wanted nii-sama to stay, but it can't be helped."

Seeing that, Kizuna felt like he had to say something.

"Once I'm all fine, I promise I'll spend a whole day, from beginning to end, together with you two. I know it doesn't make up for the time we lost while I wasn't here, but…"

"It's fine, Kizuna."

"Honestly, I'm just happy nii-sama is back."

Kizuna knew they were being honest when they said they wanted him to stay, but he also knew he couldn't. That's why he made that promise for them, and he would make sure nothing got between them this time.

Kizuna gave them goodbye kisses and said "bye" before leaving. Kizuna first stopped by the infirmary building to rest a little more before continuing.

On his way to the last stop, Kizuna met Kei. She was surprised at first, but quickly understood. She signaled him to get down a bit.

Once he did, Kei gave him a hug. Then, she whispered.

"Idiot, getting everyone worried like that."

"Eh?"

Kei didn't normally use her voice. Reiri told him that Kei only used her voice to talk with those she considered important friends to her, so Kizuna thought it was an honor to have heard Kei's whisper.

Then, she went back to typing.

[Reiri is in there. Go talk with your sister.]

"Yeah, I will."

Kizuna said goodbye to Kei and went to look for his sister.

Once he entered, he quickly saw Reiri's back. She was sitting at the table and was drinking something. He knew she had drunk something because she reeked of alcohol. He approached her a bit before calling out to her.

"Nee-chan."

Reiri looked at him. At first, she didn't believe her eyes and even rubbed them, somewhat like Yurishia had. But she started believing them since Kizuna's figure wasn't going away and he had hugged her.

"Kizuna? H-how?"

"Kaa-san and the other goddesses helped me, though that's just about as much as I understand."

Reiri hugged Kizuna as tightly as possible. She was so happy she couldn't put it to words. The little brother she had always taken care of and even did Heart Hybrid with, although they avoided talking about that, was back.

She couldn't put her happiness in words, but she put it to action. In a moment of emotion, or maybe because she was a bit drunk, Reiri allowed her body to move as it pleased. The result of that was Reiri's lips touching Kizuna's.

They didn't even close their eyes. For a second, they felt the touch of the other's lips, but it only really lasted for a second.

She quickly separated from him and said.

"S-sorry. Looks like my body is kinda weak, so…"

"Y-yeah."

Kizuna decided to not pursue the matter. She said it was a mistake and there were no feelings behind it, so it was best to leave it at that.

Though, were there no feelings behind it?

After a little bit, Reiri asked.

"Kizuna, do you still have somewhere to go?"

"No. Nee-chan's place was the farthest, so I came here last. Now I just have to go back and get to sleep."

"Then, can I ask you something? Just for tonight, can you sleep here with me?"

Hearing that honest request from his sister, how could Kizuna say no?


	13. Mysteries of The Past (Part 1)

"A-are you really going to sleep like that, nee-chan?"

"Y-yeah. This place is kind of hot, so I feel better sleeping with this."

Kizuna had been asked by Reiri to sleep with her. Since he had to rest as soon as possible, he figured there would be no harm in this. However, there was one thing…

His sister's sleepwear was composed of nothing but her panties and a white shirt that left her stomach in full view. Reiri insisted she slept like this because of the heat, which wasn't a lie, but Kizuna couldn't just not mind this.

Also, due to Reiri's insistence, Kizuna was also going to sleep with just his pants. She had told him to try sleeping just in his underwear, but Kizuna thought it was best not to. Kizuna knew their current location didn't have anything like air conditioning, so that's why he didn't put up much resistance.

After that, they laid down to sleep. Since Kizuna needed to rest, Reiri only said one thing before letting him sleep.

"Kizuna, I'm so glad you came back."

"Nee-chan… yeah, me too. I'm glad to be back. And I promise I won't die again."

"You're my little brother. Even if you didn't promise me, I wouldn't let that happen to you again."

Reiri hugged Kizuna's head to her chest. She loved him very deeply and was really hurt by his death, and now that he came back, she wouldn't let him go again.

Kizuna hugged Reiri back, and they allowed themselves to fall asleep just like that.

…

…

…

Morning had come. Kizuna and Reiri were still hugging, just like how they went to sleep.

However, due to them moving around in their sleep, their clothes got a bit messed.

Reiri's shirt was partially lifted, exposing just one of her breasts, and her panties were lowered a bit, thanks to Kizuna's finger getting stuck on its side and pulling it down as he unconsciously moved his hand.

Of course, Kizuna didn't come out completely unscratched. He only wore his pants to sleep, but decided not to put a belt on since it would feel uncomfortable. But that resulted in Reiri's hand finding a way into his pants.

As the sun shone inside the room, Reiri started opening her eyes. However, her mind was still half asleep, and there was also some effect from the alcohol, which had been provided by Odin, so she didn't process what she saw correctly.

'Kizuna… so this must be a dream… then…'

Thinking this was a dream, Reiri kissed Kizuna. It wasn't like yesterday, when she accidently kissed him. This time, she did it knowingly, though thinking it was just in her head. Kizuna must have been really tired, since he didn't wake up.

Still kissing him, she pressed her body against his. Her breasts pressed against his chest, one covered by her shirt and the other completely naked. Maybe feeling his heartbeat convinced her this was one of her dreams, since, at least until very recently, his heart shouldn't be beating anymore.

"Mm, nnh~"

"Mn. Nee… chan…"

Kizuna talked in his sleep, but Reiri didn't even heard it. Since this was a dream, wasn't it fine to just let all her raw feelings out? Even if there were special circumstances, they had done a Heart Hybrid once, so it's not like its without precedence.

Reiri noticed her panties were lowered, so she decided to just take them off at once and put Kizuna's hand on her butt. As a reflex, he started moving that hand.

"Nn~ aam~"

Reiri noticed one of her hands was inside Kizuna's pants, and she didn't think twice before pulling them down, letting free what was inside.

But it was at that moment that Kizuna opened his eyes.

"Mm. Aahm?"

Still half-asleep, Kizuna didn't even react. He was probably still dreaming. Actually, he did do something.

Maybe his mind was replaying the time they did a Heart Hybrid during the AU war, or maybe it was playing something similar. Because Kizuna's half-asleep reaction to what he saw when he opened his eyes was simply putting himself between Reiri's closed off legs and connecting their hips.

"Nmm~"

"Mm."

Their eyes happened to open at the same time. Kizuna was still half-asleep, but Reiri was already starting to put two and two together. However, due to what Kizuna had just done, her mind turned blank once again.

Kizuna moved his hand on Reiri's ass and kissed the tip of her breast. Reiri moaned and just let him do as they pleased. Incredibly, neither of them were fully conscious yet.

Who knows how far this could have gone if it wasn't for the third person in the room.

"*cough* Sorry to interrupt, but since it doesn't look like this will end anytime soon, I'd rather you two leave it for later."

After hearing that voice, Kizuna and Reiri came to. Looking at the origin, they found out it was Nayuta who had talked. She was sitting on a chair in front of the bed.

Then, they both looked at the other, and noticed what happened. It took a second for their minds to process it, but once they did, both of their faces got red and they looked the other way.

"S-sorry, nee-chan. I must have had some weird dreams."

"I-it's fine. I also didn't woke up, so you don't have to take the blame."

"Yeah yeah, it was just a bit of sibling bonding. I don't mind you two doing that. In fact, I've gone back to thinking about a situation that would force me and Kizuna to do Heart Hybrid, so I'd be ironic of me to reprehend you two."

Kizuna thought he heard something that he couldn't ignore there, but Nayuta acted before he could ask her to repeat what she had said.

"Kizuna, put your clothes on, we have something to do. And Reiri, we'll be using the command room today, so you don't have to go work today. Do what needs to be done to finish."

Nayuta winked at Reiri and hurried Kizuna. Kizuna quickly put on his clothes while Reiri shouted "what the heck do you mean, you old hag?!"

Nayuta took Kizuna to the battleship's command room. They were still using that place as a command center because they were more accustomed to it and it was easier than making a new one in this world.

"The others are already waiting there. Let's get you fully updated on what happened while you were… not here, and tell you what you need to do."

Seems like Nayuta didn't even want to mention Kizuna's death. Even though she had been far from a good mother for basically all his life, it seems like Nayuta was starting to turn her life around.

They didn't take long to arrive there. Once in the command room, Kizuna saw that the ones there were Odin, Osiris and Thanatos.

"Oh, there's the man. Come on, take your seat."

Odin said as soon as she saw Kizuna. Although she didn't directly say it, she was happy Kizuna was getting better, though that might be because she's interested in his power and strength… or the Heart Hybrid, as she made sure to point out a few times.

Osiris and Thanatos gave normal greetings. Kizuna and Nayuta sat down, and so they began talking.

"One thing that we didn't told you was that, before you were revived, we tried to get some information on who that man is. Since he seemed to know Thanatos, I, with some help from the other goddesses, made a little something that, to save up on explanations, I'll say lets us see into the past."

Nayuta then put on the table something that looked like a headband. She then explained what it was.

"This is what I was talking about. With this, we were able to take a look into Thanatos' past, before she even woke up as a goddess. Kinda like looking into one's memories."

"But" Osiris continued "just that wasn't enough for us to properly see anything really. That's why we thought about also asking you, now that you're back. The other person that man seemed to know. Eros, Kizuna."

Nayuta put down another headband on the table. She then explained that they wanted both Kizuna and Thanatos to help out so that they could properly investigate these three past together.

"Sounds good to me. When do we start?"

"There are just two problems."

Osiris seemed confused when Nayuta said "two" but decided to not interrupt. Nayuta then asked Odin to explain.

"Me and Nayuta were making this new body of yours while Osiris was trying to get your soul back, and, if I may add, I did most of the work, so you can thank me for any perks you new body might have" Odin winked at Kizuna, but decided to continue when Osiris fake a cough.

"Anyway, while I was making your new body, your mother was trying to get Eros' core from your old one. But, hum…"

"It wasn't there. Remember the surgery you had to go through to install Eros' core in you? Well, that core is just gone. But, when I ran some tests, there were still reactions from Eros in you. I believe something must have happened and you're more than just physically connected to Eros, but we haven't confirmed it yet. In any case, this idea only works if you still have Eros in you."

This was something Kizuna didn't expect to hear. Eros is gone? Or is it still with him? Depending on that answer, things would change drastically, and not just for Kizuna. They would literary have to change their battle strategies to how they were before Kizuna joined.

"But it seems we're in luck. There is a way we can confirm if you still have Eros or not and also solve the second problem at the same time."

Thanatos looked at Nayuta with curiosity and Kizuna asked "how?"

"Simple. I made modifications to the Love Room so it would be able to project these "memories", but it only works when you fill it with energy. Me and Odin did something about it when Thanatos tried it, but now, why don't you two try to do a Heart Hybrid? That way, we'll be able to confirm if you still have Eros and fill the Love Room with energy."

"We did that?... I mean, yeah, we did that."

Odin practically gave away that Nayuta was lying. Osiris eyed her intensely "don't lie" she said.

"… Fine. I just wanted to see Thanatos' face during that time. There's no need to fill anything with energy, though it would have helped to check if Eros is still here or not."

Odin made a "tsk" sound with her tongue. Nayuta tried insisting a bit more, but it didn't work out.

"Oh well. Fine, you just have to wear the headband. We'll work on things from here and the Love Room will work kinda like a 3D projector, we'll watch from here. … Still, I'm pretty sure even Osiris would have liked to see that."

"N-no I wouldn't! These kinds of things shouldn't just be done on a whim."

Osiris' face grew a tad bit red as she spoke. Maybe it was a bit of a sensitive topic for her.

Kizuna and Thanatos picked up the headbands before this grew more out of hand and put them on. Nayuta then said "alright" and started getting ready.

With this, hopefully, they would discover something about that man and how to stop him.


	14. Mysteries of The Past (Part 2)

From the command room, Kizuna and the others were observing the Love Room, which was still in its default state. Nayuta was finishing her preparations.

"Ok, nearly done. Since Kizuna doesn't know, I'll say it again. The Love Room is going to change as if it was making a normal simulation, except it'll be like watching a movie."

Not long after she finished saying that, the Love Room's insides changed. The current Love Room looked like some sort of laboratory. Although it hadn't been mentioned anywhere, it was probably in a world they didn't know about.

In any case, for now, just discovering what was Thanatos and Eros' relation to that man was good enough for them.

"This first bit of memory comes only from Thanatos. This is what we had already seen before" Nayuta explained.

In the laboratory, there was a woman wearing a white coat that seemed a little big for her. Many of her body features were similar to Thanatos', although the woman was a bit smaller in certain aspects. Her hair was long and blond and her eyes blue. She was the only one in that place and she looked like she was working on something.

Also, though none of the present could have know about that, that woman was the same one that was "sleeping" in the place that mysterious man who killed Kizuna used as a hideout.

[Professor, I came to see your new work.]

The voice of a man could be heard. The audio didn't have the best quality, but they could still understand what was being said. The same went for the image.

Then, a man came in. He also wore a coat, though his was the right size. He also had been the man in the hideout, the same man who kept the "sleeping woman" in his room and who had scars on his left hand. Though, once again, they didn't know about that.

[I don't recall telling you my work was completed, much less inviting you here, and even less about giving you a key to enter, but since you're here, I guess I can show you around and then throw you outside.]

The woman said. Apparently, she wasn't exactly friends with the man.

The woman pressed a few buttons and the ground not far from her opened up. From there, two transparent tubes, the kind you'd expect to see in a laboratory, came up. And there was someone inside them.

[Oh, so they really do exist. You've finally outdone yourself, professor, you have created gods.]

The man said as he admired the ones inside the tubes. Kizuna looked at one of them and what he saw inside was a little girl. A little blond girl who was exactly like what Kizuna would expect from a child Thanatos.

But Kizuna couldn't even say he suspected that to be the place Thanatos was born, because, at the tube's feet, was written "THANATOS" so Kizuna thought he wouldn't get more confirmation than that.

Although they said they had already seen this memory, Thanatos and the other gods seemed surprised. They had already suspected that to be the place Thanatos came from, but it seems it had just been confirmed.

Kizuna looked at the other tube. Inside was a blond boy. If the girl was the young Thanatos, and taking into account all the physical similarities between Thanatos and the man who killed Kizuna, could this boy be him? Thinking that, Kizuna read the name at the tube's feet.

"Hypnos…"

"Maybe Eros does have some part in this memory. Those names weren't there before."

Nayuta commented. Kizuna then understood why they also seemed surprised. Of course, even if they talked, the man and woman didn't react, as this was something like a recording.

[Do you really think they're gods? I used my DNA as base, so they're kind of like my children. Though I guess I did make some heavy alterations, so they're not exactly human either. Meh, let's call them gods just for convenience, I can't be bothered to name a new species now.]

[You think of them as your children? If you wanted kids, you could have just asked someone. I'm sure there are many candidates, myself included.]

The woman pretended she was going to vomit and then said.

[Excuse me. I don't want to be mean, but let's not talk about that anymore. Besides, they say that the pain of giving birth is one of the most painful things a human can go through. I'm not up for that, and haven't met anyone that could make me up for it.]

[… In any case, why don't you come back? I know you have all this equipment in this lab in your house, but don't you think you would be able to do much more with a proper team and equipment?]

The woman apparently got a bit irritated. She hit her hands on the table and said.

[I don't go back for the same reason I left. Remember that new source of energy I discovered? As soon as I discovered it drained the life force, or whatever you want to call it, from another world, I said we should stop using it. But not only did you people continue, you didn't even disclose that information to the public. And don't pretend you had no part in that decision.]

Osiris was interested in what had just been heard. Sure, it's probably too much to say that that's why her world got like this, but there might be some relation. And if she can find the source, then there might be a way to fix it. Though she would leave that for later.

As a side note, what the woman was talking about was a discovery she had accidently made. She, along with a team led by another scientist, were trying to give definitive proof of the multiverse theory by getting in contact with another world. However, at some point, the woman accidently discovered a new form of energy that surpassed the existing ones, so she left that team to work on her own project.

Of course, that research progressed even after the woman left, but she also started leading her own team. Not long after, her research reached a level were it could be put into practice. The rest went as she had told.

[… Fine. But you should know I'm not the only one who knows about your work. I recommend you go back to working with us. We wouldn't want to have to put you and your work down because it could be seen as dangerous by the common people, would we?]

The man left the woman's house. She knew what he meant with "put down" and it wasn't just making sure she couldn't continue her research. Little did she know what was on his mind, and his pocket.

Then, they heard some static noise and the scenery flickered. Next thing they knew, the Love Room had been replaying another memory.

"We didn't have access to this before, so maybe now we'll know where Eros comes in."

This memory looked like it took place some time after the previous one. They could tell that because both the boy and girl, Hypnos and Thanatos, had more developed bodies compared to the last memory.

Little girl Thanatos was laying on some kind of bed while the woman apparently did a few examinations. Kizuna and the others didn't know, but she was testing to see if she could finally wake up Thanatos.

Then, once again, that same man from before came in. And now, both the image and sound had much better quality.

[Professor, I came to check your work again.]

[I'm pretty sure it's illegal to just enter people's houses like that, Dr. Chronos, so stop that before I call the police. … And what kind of name is that? Did you really became so obsessed with your research on bending time that you changed your actual name?]

As the woman had mentioned, the man's, Chronos' research focused on time. It covered everything, from studding how high speeds affect the passage of time to even the more sci-fi things like time travel and such. Although he hadn't gotten any practical results, his theoretical research had really taken off.

Chronos then started looking around the woman's lab. He saw a black object, got curious and picked it up, but the woman soon slapped his hand, took back the object and put it back in place. Kizuna thought that object looked familiar.

[… What is that?]

[Something from my family, you could say. Though I did make a few modifications. I know you said it only to provoke me, but I was thinking, people really might not like someone as powerful as my children being completely independent from humanity, so I did a little something. Basically, this here will make sure Thanatos has a human partner, and they'll only be able to use their true power when they are together. I'll make something similar for Hypnos some other time.]

[Partner? In what sense?]

[I also don't know. It can be a lover, sure, but it can also be a best friend, someone she'll trust above anyone else. Basically, anything goes. I've named it Eros after my school/college/work nickname.]

Incidentally, this woman, who was Thanatos and Hypnos' mother, and apparently Eros' creator, was known for being quite the pervert ever since she was born. She was the kind of girl who, in school, would go spying both the boys and girls simply for fun. Maybe that's why Eros works the way it does.

After he heard that name, Kizuna put his hand on his chest. So that's where his Eros came from. He had already thought about it coming from another world, but he never thought he would find out like this.

[And how do you know this thing will find a partner for the girl? Also, how would the process of unlocking their true power be? And aren't you worried this "partner" might be a bad person?]

[You're asking as if I had to answer. Just so I don't sound rude, I'll say that, like every woman, I have my secrets, so you don't have to worry about it.]

Although she said that, an idea flashed in the woman's mind, so she continued with: "as for how they would unlock their powers…" the woman made a circle with her fingers and then passed her index finger through the circle. As she kept repeating this motion, the woman said "I didn't get the nickname Eros for nothing" making even the current Thanatos blush.

The man sighted, as if he was disappointed, but also already expected it.

[Whatever. Today, I came to tell you I'm here to get the data of your research. If you give it to me obediently, no harm will come to you or these children. I'll also be taking that Eros since it seems to hold a few of your secrets.]

The woman wasn't about to shout that he couldn't do that and that she had her rights, she knew that he could kill her and no one would ever know. Even so, the woman stood her ground.

[I won't give this power to you. I'd much rather throw it out there and see what people would do with it. As for Eros, try picking it up. I'm sure it'll disintegrate your hand before long, it's just what it does to those who try to forcibly get it's power. Next time you come, you better bring some friends.]

Chronos approached the sleeping Thanatos. Of course, the woman was on guard, but she knew she couldn't stop him.

Then, he pulled something that looked like a plasma knife, or at least that's what Kizuna would call it, and cut through little girl Thanatos' left arm and the bed she was laying at. The little girl's face looked like it was in pain and adult Thanatos grabbed her own left arm by reflex.

[I won't ask again.]

[My answer would still be the same. Get out, even my patience has limits.]

Chronos turned off the knife and put his hands up, signaling he would leave for now. Before leaving, he said "next time we meet, you will die, or at least you'll lose everything" to the woman.

Once he was gone, the woman took off her coat to staunch the wound. After a few seconds, the woman released a sigh.

She might have just signed her own death sentence, but she knew what she needed to do, and the preparations she needed for it.

And once again, the Love Room's scenery flickered. For some reason, everyone there thought that would be the last memory they would see.

The woman was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed. She had been resting until she heard some noise and got up.

[They're coming. Time to say goodbye.]

The first thing she did was grab Eros' core. She walked to a place that looked like a trash bin, but it actually was an Entrance in disguise.

[You know what your job is. Find my daughter a good partner. … And preferably, someone who'll be able to stop Chronos if it comes to it.]

She then threw Eros inside the Entrance. It would only be found a long time after, but that's beside the point.

Since Eros was gone, the quality of the sound and image started to lower.

The woman then walked towards little girl Thanatos. Everyone in the command room saw Thanatos' state at the time. Both the arm that had been cut off and the right arm now had Thanatos' signature robot-looking arms in place. The right arm was probably inside, but was the left one being regenerated? That was probably the case.

The woman then brushed Thanatos hair with her hand as she said.

[Well, if I had to tell you anything… just live a happy life. I don't care if you're a god, a super powerful human, or whatever, you're my daughter. Just find something you want to do and do it, and if you have any trouble, try finding your partner. It was hard to create Eros, so he better be good.]

Little girl Thanatos was then put into a capsule and send into another Entrance different from the one Eros had gone through. Needless to say, both Entrances had been closed permanently after they fulfilled their jobs.

Then, the woman walked towards Hypnos.

[As for you… I still have some adjustments to make, so keep your mother company for just a little more, ok?]

But, as she was doing said adjustments, she heard steps nearby. Luckily, she had built a near autonomous system, so she did something else while Hypnos' adjustments were being finished.

She grabbed something that was on her table. As both Thanatos and Eros weren't connected to this memory anymore, the quality of the image and sound was getting progressively worst, but, by some stroke of luck, they were able to see things to the end.

What she grabbed looked a lot like what the man who killed Kizuna, Hypnos, grabbed from inside the gods. It was a glowing ball of light. She swallowed that glowing ball and, immediately after, four armed men kicked her door open.

But then, with a simple hand gesture from the woman, four vines came out of the ground and hit the men against the wall, knocking them out.

[W-wow, I didn't think it would be this good. I just tried applying the theory behind the powers I gave to Thanatos and Hypnos to myself, and I didn't even know if it would work.]

The woman then moved to the computer nearby. She started doing something as she said.

[You want this data so much, Chronos? Then I'll show you, you and the rest of the multiverse… I just hope people know how to use this for good in other worlds, otherwise, this will be the biggest mistake ever.]

Once she pressed enter, all her computers started releasing sparks and soon had their circuits burned. Her data had been destroyed, but she had already send the data on how to "create gods" into the multiverse in multiple forms. Of course, she didn't know what would come of it, but she felt it was the right move.

[Over there. Shoot her.]

More armed men tried to shoot the woman, but she created vines on the wall behind them and used them to attack, knocking the men out. She then moved to Hypnos, got his capsule ready and hit the button to send him away.

[Bye-! Gah!]

[Not so fast, professor.]

Chronos was the next one to appear. He had some kind of special glove on his left hand. It not only prevented the woman from moving, but it had also stopped Hypnos' capsule.

[This? It's a little something I made with some data I stole from you the last two times I visited and also my own research data. It's really useful, but I see you've also made progress.]

Chronos then made a motion with his hand and Hypnos' capsule came back to where it had come from. Once he was back in place, Chronos gave his men the order to take him. He then approached the woman, who had an angry expression.

[You really can't move a bit? Interesting. Then, let's test the limits of this thing, shall we?]

Chronos put his hand on the woman's shirt, and then tore it off. Safe for a few pieces of cloth that really didn't cover anything, the woman's chest was completely naked for anyone to see.

[Heh, I guess your powers weren't all that… the glove is getting hotter? Gah, it's burning my hand.]

[Ha!]

Maybe due to her forcing it, or maybe the glove couldn't be used for a long time, or maybe because of both, the woman was able to move for just a second.

She wrapped both arms with vines. Then, she used these vines to pierce the man's hand and glove, destroying it.

[Guh!]

[!]

However, it had an unexpected side effect on her. The woman just fell down to the ground with her eyes closed, as if she was sleeping.

Chronos then checked the woman to try to understand what had happened.

[She's still alive… is her time stopped? … Well, for now, this is fine. I'll just take her as well. The rest… I guess she managed to get rid of the data and two of her creations.]

The memory ended with Chronos picking up the woman. The Love Room then turned back to its default state.

Kizuna wanted to say something, but didn't know what. When he looked at Thanatos, he saw that she was biting her lip with such strength blood was starting to flow from it. Most likely, she had a lot of things to say, but was keeping all of them in.

"We saw some pretty interesting things there. I want to do some tests on both Thanatos and Kizuna now that we know all these things, but I think we can affirm something thing from what we saw."

"You mean…" Osiris unintentionally interrupted Nayuta, but she soon let her talk.

"The technology to make both the Heart Hybrid Gears and to turn humans into gods came from Thanatos' mother. Not only that, we now know that Eros also came from there and that its powers were meant for Thanatos, so the fact that they can be used with other Heart Hybrid Gears and possibly gods must be an unintentional effect of them being "branches from the same tree"."

It was quite something to hear, but it's not unbelievable with what they had seen.

Odin than raised her hand.

"If you need anyone to test the "doing Heart Hybrid with gods" thing, just tell me. I've been wanting to do it ever since I've been told about it."

Odin tried to make the mood a bit better with a joke (at least Kizuna hoped it was), but it didn't have the best of effects.

Nayuta then released a sigh.

"Anyway, I think we're all tired by now. We learned a lot more than expected, so let's just rest for now."

Everyone had to agree to what Nayuta said. Kizuna specially needed a good rest to properly recover 100%, so they all called it a day then.

The day after tomorrow would be a tiring day for Kizuna, but for a different reason than today.


	15. New Place

"How's Hokuto doing, err... Landred-sensei?"

"My~ Kizuna, there's no need to be reserved. Hokuto seems to be doing fine recently, she might even wake up sometime soon."

"Ahh, that's great… but, hum, why are you trying to take my shirt off?"

"Aren't you here for a check up~?"

"No, he is not."

Thanatos, who had been waiting outside, decided to come in. The scene she saw inside was as follows.

Kizuna was near the bed Hokuto was laying at. He had gone there to check on her. Landred, who was wearing a really small and tight nurse costume, was trying to take off his shirt, but Kizuna was doing what he could to resist.

This was the infirmary building Kizuna had been resting in for a while now. One of the rooms close to the one he had been resting at was this one which Hokuto was in. Also, Kizuna had already met Landred before, that's why he wasn't really surprised to see her now.

"By the way, Landred, why are you here as a nurse?"

"Oh, I wanted to take some time off from being the queen, and I heard you and your sister needed help, so I sneaked in along with Masters and the others. At first, they said something about erasing my memories and sending me back, but I managed to convince your mother that I could help. Then, I got a job as a nurse."

Kizuna didn't know how to react, but luckily for him, Thanatos deiced to pull his out of the room. Landred said "Byee~ come back whenever you need a checkup~" as her farewells.

Once outside, the ones waiting for him were Aine, Grace, Hayuru and Yurishia.

"So? What was taking you so long?"

"Maybe nii-sama was busy checking out the nurse instead of the sick person."

The sisters started verbally attacking Kizuna, but he didn't defend himself because he knew he spend a few more minutes than he needed there because of said nurse. It just couldn't be helped.

"I-in any case, we should get going" Kizuna tried to change the topic.

The reason why this group of people had come together was quite simple.

After they saw the memories of Thanatos and Eros, Nayuta told Kizuna that he would be moving to the place he would be staying at in two days or so since he was nearly completely recovered. The following day, Kizuna went to check out the place, and then he decided to tell Aine and the others about him moving.

Thanatos was there because, now that they know the true purpose of Eros, Nayuta thought it was best for them to spend some time together, so Thanatos would also be moving in. In total, there would be 3 people living in that house.

Today was the day they were supposed to move in, so that's why everyone ended up together. At the start, Thanatos was slightly irritated by the other's presence, but she got over it.

As they were walking to Kizuna and Thanatos' new place, Aine kept discussing something with Thanatos, though they made sure none of the others could hear them.

"Listen, I don't know how or why exactly you're head over heels for Kizuna, but just know that I'm the main wife. As long as you keep that in mind, I don't mind letting you join the harem."

"W-what are you talking about? We're just… yeah, it's just that we were meant to be partners, that's all… there's no feelings behind it."

Thanatos lowered her voice even more. Since she didn't want to keep pressing, Aine decided to leave it at that.

It was then that Kizuna's group had a chance meeting with some people they hadn't seen in a while.

"Ah, it's captain!"

"Kizuna, it's been so long."

Sylvia and Gravel, accompanied by Ralgrus and Aldea respectively, met with Kizuna's group by chance.

"Hayuru, I thought you had invited Sylvia."

"I-I was going to, but, when I woke up, she was already gone."

By the way, Hayuru and Sylvia had become roommates when Nayuta and the other gods were making the houses and deciding who would be where, that's why Yurishia questioned Hayuru.

"Where's everyone going desu?"

"Ah, we're going to the place me and Thanatos will be staying at. I think there's no problem if you all want to come along."

"I want to desu! Ralgrus, let's go."

"Nah, I don't really want to. If you're going, then I guess I'll say my goodbyes here. Talk to you later, Sylvia."

Ralgrus just waved Sylvia goodbye and went her own way. Kizuna felt bad for disturbing hers and Sylvia's time together, but it didn't seem like the people in question were minding it.

"H-hum… I… can I…"

Gravel was saying something in such a low voice no one but the person beside her was hearing it. Of course, the person beside her was Aldea.

Although Aldea wanted to monopolize Gravel for herself, she also wanted her to be happy, that's why she gave that initial push.

"Ah, now that I remember, I have something to do. Since there's the chance, you might as well go with them, Gravel. Bye, see you all."

"E-eh? W-wait, I-"

Aldea dashed out as soon as she finished talking, leaving Gravel alone with everyone else. Gravel was kinda awkward from what had just happened, but Kizuna didn't mind that as he made hos offer.

"Want to come with us?" Kizuna said with a smile as he offered his hand to Gravel. She took it saying "yes."

From there, they headed straight towards the new place. The girls talked amongst themselves all the way, though Kizuna and Thanatos didn't really join the conversation unless they were specifically asked something.

The topic even went to what had happened to Kizuna for him to have to spend more than a week in recovery, but the ones who knew what had really happened decided to avoid the topic.

It didn't take long to reach the place Thanatos and Kizuna would now be living at. Kizuna opened the door and said.

"Ger-san, we're here."

"Eh?" All the girls said at the same time.

"Yeah yeah, I noticed. What's with this damn army of girls anyway?"

The one who came from inside the house was none other than the member of Masters, Gertude. Seeing as the girls were making confused faces, Kizuna told them what his mother had told him.

Originally, once Kizuna was back to full health, he was going to stay in this place with Gertude, since she's the one less likely to attack him, in any sense, as he sleeps. Considering most people here were living in houses with 2 or 3 people, it's not surprising that Kizuna also didn't get to live alone, or that he was staying with a girl, considering the male/female ratio of this place. Nayuta only decided to have Thanatos stay there as well after they had seen the memories.

"Maybe I should have talked about this sooner?"

The girls didn't say anything, just eyed him with a little bit of anger and annoyance. Thanatos' gaze seemed a bit more focused.

The gods had created these houses they were using with their powers, but they weren't all that big, so it got quite cramped with Kizuna + 8 girls in just one of them.

While most of the girls looked around, Gertude decided to show Kizuna and Thanatos around. Kizuna had already checked this place out the other day, but decided to go along.

The house was simple and it only had two floors. The first floor had something like a kitchen and a living room, while the second only had three single beds one beside the other. It was just like the other houses here and didn't have anything special.

After that, everyone just lazed about for about two hours until it became nighttime. It was around then that Aine made a suggestion.

"I want to take this opportunity to talk with the girls here. … Since it's about you, I guess Kizuna doesn't need to stay… and I guess Gertude doesn't have to either, but the rest have to hear this."

"? What's this about me?"

"Oh, don't worry about it."

"Yeah. Kizuna, just wait outside a bit, will you? We'll call you once we're done."

With that, Yurishia and Hayuru pushed Kizuna out. Them, along with Grace, had already been told what Aine wanted to talk about, that's why they cooperated.

Grace took Gertude out, but, before she closed the door, Grace said so only Gertude could hear.

"I know you're our biggest rival."

"? What?"

But Grace just closed the door. She had said that because of a recording she was shown while Kizuna did Connective Hybrid with Aine, Yurishia and Hayuru before he was killed, but that's a story for another time.

And so Aine started talking.

"I think everyone already guessed that what I want to talk about, but basically, it's about Kizuna and how I think we should deal with the Heart Hybrids from now on."

"If it's that, then it's between you all who like him… I'll just take my leave."

But, before Thanatos could go anywhere, Aine grabbed her arm.

"If you insist on working with Kizuna as a "partner" and it involves doing Heart Hybrid, I think you'd better stay. Professor Nayuta told me a few things I want to make sure of."

Thanatos' face paled as she gulped, seeing she had no escape.

Meanwhile, outside…

"H-haha, s-sorry about bringing so many people over, Ger-san."

"I let it pass the first time since it had been a while, but really, stop calling me that! Damnit!"

Kizuna had called her that jokingly, but, since he didn't want to make Gertude mad, he said he was sorry.

"But well… I'm happy that boss' fine now. I don't know what happened in that fight that you had to be taken care of for a whole week, but your body's not half bad now considering you must have spent most of that time lying down. … And let's not talk about the running around naked thing."

Kizuna replied with a simple "yeah" as he was then reminded about the version most people had heard. Information he had once died was only known by those who saw that happen, so Gertude and the others had only heard that "he had gotten badly hurt and would need time to recover."

After a few minutes, they heard a voice calling to them.

"Hum? What are you doing here?"

"We brought over dinner, but why aren't you inside?"

Reiri and Nayuta had come over. Kizuna tried to explain what was happening, but Reiri opened the door first.

Luckily, or not, all they heard was the girls nodding all at once, and then being surprised by seeing Reiri.

Although Reiri wanted to question what was going on, Nayuta just said they should eat dinner while it was still hot, so Reiri had to let go.

Then, seeing everyone there, Nayuta made a suggestion.

"Why don't we all sleep here together for tonight?"

"B-but, we didn't bring any sleepwear."

"We can just sleep in our underwear in that case."

Aine responded to Hayuru, seems like she didn't want to let go of this chance. After hearing that, most of the girls there agreed to Nayuta's suggestion. But then Thanatos tried intervening.

"W-wait, there's not enough space for everyone…"

"Oh, if it's about that, I'm sure the others won't mind it just for tonight."

Nayuta snapped her fingers and the three beds on the second floor disappeared, in their place a big round bed appeared. Nayuta said it would be able to hold all of them. Kizuna wondered if those houses and what is inside them were also made like that.

"Now then, it's a bit early, but why don't we go to sleep already? Reiri, would you also like to join?"

"O-of course. With this many girls, I can't thrust you all won't do as you please with Kizuna, and he still needs to recover, so of course I'll have to stay."

"Then, let's go."

Kizuna didn't even try to resist, as he knew it wouldn't amount to anything now that even Reiri had joined in.

Once upstairs, Nayuta snapped her fingers again, and everyone's clothes durned into an almost transparent baby-doll. The color was different for each girl, but in general, the baby-doll only covered the important parts while giving the impression of almost showing them.

"I-I don't think I look good on such feminine clothes, so I'd like it if you could give me something else."

"If Gravel doesn't look good, than there's no hope for Sylvia desu…"

Seeing Sylvia's eyes become watery, so Gravel tried to calm her down. But, if Kizuna had to give his opinion, he'd say Gravel's body was one of the hardest to take his eyes from.

While the girls were all wearing sexy sleepwear, Kizuna was left in just his boxers. He was thankful his mother hadn't just put him naked there.

The girls then pushed Kizuna onto the bed. The not as exited Reiri, Thanatos and Gertude decided to follow after.

But of course, they couldn't all just go to sleep.

"Kizuna~ since we're here…"

"Hey, Yurishia, no fair!"

"Captainnn~ please don't just ignore Sylvia."

Some girls were fighting for a place near Kizuna. Meanwhile, Reiri and Gertude were trying to keep them controlled.

"Why is boss so popular? It's supposed to be the time to rest, damn it! Why did I have to be the one here?"

"I won't let you all just do as you please. I won't let anyone touch Kizuna."

Meanwhile, Thanatos just took her place at the sides and quietly went to sleep. Gravel as well, since she judged she wouldn't have any chance against the others, though that's not what Kizuna would have said. Nayuta was biding her time, waiting for a chance to also jump in.

Although Kizuna spend most of the time silent, he was happy. Moments like this made him thankful for all the effort everyone went through to revive him, and not just because of the beautiful girls trying to sleep with him. And if some of these girls held feelings for him, Kizuna wanted to answer them properly. He now knew he could, since, for some reason, Kizuna felt like he had a lot of time to think it over.

Although it took a while, eventually, everyone fell asleep.

…

As a side note, maybe due to some kind of dream, Nayuta ended up getting rid of everyone's clothes during the night. There were no problems, until morning, when, due to a natural phenomenon, Kizuna's thing ended up touching the nearest person, which happened to be Sylvia, and it also happened to touch her face.

Mumbling "Sylvia also wants… zzzz… captain's love… desu…" Sylvia ended up putting the tip in her mouth. Kizuna only woke up minutes later, followed by the other girls, but only to see the disaster unfold.

Taking his recovery into consideration, Kizuna didn't receive much of a punishment, even though he wasn't really guilty.


	16. If It Must Be Done

"Where are we going again?"

"We're going back to our world. I want to check on its and Vatlantis' state, and I also want to try to find some clues about that man, Hypnos. Osiris said that she might be able to make something to find him, or at least warn us if he's close."

Nayuta told Kizuna as they traveled between worlds, going towards their original world.

As of this moment, they were in something like a small escape pod that Nayuta got from the Vatlantis Imperial battleship, which was stationed in the settlement-world Odin had made. Nayuta said it would be easier for them to move without being noticed in this. She made some modifications to it and it now would be able to go for this "short trip", although it should take several hours for them to leave and return to Odin's world.

"I'll tell you just in case of an emergency, this pod is on autopilot, so we just have to wait until we reach where we want to go. Also, see this button? If you press it, you'll be able to talk with Reiri and the others in the command room and they should be able to guide you on what to do should something happen."

"Kaa-san, there's no need for you to tell me this, is there?"

"I hope not, but I'd rather be safe. Maybe nothing will happen today, but maybe it will someday. I just want you to know what to do even if I'm not around to help."

Kizuna didn't know how to answer to that. His death was still recent, and it had left a big scar even in Nayuta. Maybe that's why she's being a bit overprotective right now.

"… Well, I guess we just have to wait then. I know, how about we…"

"Oh, I know what you're going to say. Let's do it."

As soon as she said that, Nayuta started undoing her kimono. Right before she exposed her intimate places, Kizuna stopped his mother.

"Wait wait wait, what are you doing?"

"Oh, weren't you going to suggest we should do Heart Hybrid while we wait. No one would ever know, so we could keep this a secret between mother and son."

"No! You're my mother! I was going to say Aine told me that these pods have something like a cards game stored somewhere so that the soldiers who need rescue could relax their minds while they waited. Even though it's just a game to distract one's mind so they don't panic, I was going to suggest we try playing it."

Nayuta's face seemed genuinely surprised, but she gave up on her idea and started fixing her kimono.

"Still, you did a Heart Hybrid with Reiri, and there was even that thing when you two slept together a few days ago, why won't you do it with me?"

Kizuna almost choked with his own breath, but managed to keep calm and answer his mother.

"W-well, at the time, there was no other way and there were other circumstances… b-but hum…"

"Ahh, its fine. But remember, if you ever change your mind…"

Nayuta then licked her lips seductively, which send a chill down Kizuna's spine.

Kizuna then decided to distract his mind with the card game he had heard from Aine. Since there was nothing to do, Nayuta also played. Overall, they played for about an hour and a half, and their full going trip lasted about two hours.

Once they were close to their world, Nayuta send some things that looked like drones and started analyzing their data.

"I thought we were going to enter our world."

"Well, we first have to see in what state it's in. After all the damage Hypnos did to it, I can't say for sure if they will ever recover, but at least Odin and Osiris made copies of both worlds to evacuate the people, so we'll just have to live there if we can't come back here. Besides, don't you think this is a lot more effective than blindly searching two whole worlds?"

Kizuna couldn't argue with that, so he just stood watch as his mother did her job.

Meanwhile, somewhere close to the escape pod Kizuna and Nayuta were at…

"Heh, never thought he'd survive. Guess I'll go say hello."

After about half an hour, Nayuta gave her conclusion.

"I think the worlds will recover enough for us to go back, but I wasn't able to find anything that could take us to Hypnos."

"It's fine, kaa-san. We'll find him eventually. For now, let's go back."

Nayuta nodded and started the escape pod.

But then, from outside, the door was forced open and in came a blond man with a face that made one think he had some kind of illness, Hypnos.

Last time Kizuna had seen him, Hypnos' ill-looking face made one think he had some kind of infection or something, but now it seemed to have gotten a bit better and his face went back to looking like he had a cold.

Kizuna immediately got on guard. He didn't even know if he really could, but he was about to equip Eros. However, Hypnos was faster and hit his head against the wall, knocking Kizuna out.

"Sorry Eros, but if you survived then there's a good chance Thanatos did as well. I need to get rid of at least one of you to assure victory, so I guess you were just unlucky."

Hypnos then materialized a sword and would surely have used it to kill Kizuna if Nayuta hadn't intervened.

"Ha!"

Nayuta created something that looked like a small ball of rock and threw it towards Hypnos, who took the hit and ended up being throw to the back of the pod. There's no need to say it wasn't just a round rock, especially since it had just been made with divine power.

Nayuta no longer had the same combat power she did back when she fought Kizuna at the end of the AU war, but even if she had, the small space didn't allow her to go all out. For her, just protecting Kizuna was enough.

"Don't start getting any strange ideas, newbie."

Hypnos quickly got up and hit the back of his sword on Nayuta's face. Now that she was out of the way, Hypnos could continue his original objective.

"Now now, bye bye for good, Eros. You're really unlucky, I was seriously just passing by when I noticed you."

"Wait, don't!"

Nayuta cried out, but Hypnos didn't care. At least, until she gave him an offer.

"You want a god's powers, don't you? Take mine. Take my powers, but let Kizuna live."

Nayuta said with watery eyes, but doing her best not to cry. Even after all she had done to get these powers, she was ready to throw them away now if it meant saving Kizuna.

Hypnos apparently stopped to think for a second. Then, he let Kizuna go and approached Nayuta.

"Fine. But don't resist, not even a little bit."

Next, his arm impaled Nayuta's small body. There was not a drop of blood. While she felt incredible pain, Hypnos stole all the power he could from her.

After he was done, he let Nayuta's body fall to the ground. Then, before he escaped, Hypnos said.

"Wake up Eros. Wake up and go home."

But neither Kizuna nor Nayuta heard him.

About a minute or two after, Kizuna finally woke up. He noticed Nayuta's condition right away.

"Kaa-san? Kaa-san!? What happened? Did he take her powers as well?"

It was then that Kizuna remembered what he had been told. He pressed the button Nayuta told him about earlier and tried his best to explain what happened to Reiri, who didn't waste a second to call Osiris and Odin.

[From what I'm hearing, her state isn't good. She's going to die.]

"What? Odin, please explain."

[Think of Hypnos' ability to steal a god's power like a punch to the face] Odin explain in her usual way, but Kizuna couldn't waste time with that right now. [If I, an adult god, takes that punch, the effects will be one thing. But if your mother, a child god, takes it, the effects will be much stronger.]

Kizuna was clenching his fists so hard blood was nearly coming out. No matter what she had done, Nayuta was still Kizuna's mother, and she had become a better person even if just a little bit. Kizuna couldn't just let her die like that.

"Then, is there nothing I can do?"

[There might be] Osiris' voice sounded like a beautiful song in Kizuna's ear right now. [You guys' Heart Hybrid Gear uses something like life energy, right? We gods use something similar. In theory, if you could keep giving her more, you could delay her death. If you manage to get her to me, I promise I'll do something about it.]

To keep filling his mother with energy… but that would mean…

Nayuta joked about that every now and then, but now Kizuna would have to be the one taking action. If he didn't do it, she would die, but if he did… what would happen? They're not even completely sure Eros is still with Kizuna, should he risk it?

Reiri's voice then came from the communicator.

[Kizuna… …do whatever you think you must. No one will blame you, no matter what happens.]

"… Yeah. Thanks, nee-chan."

Kizuna then turned off the communicator, isolating him and the dying Nayuta for almost two hours until they returned to the settlement-world.

Reiri had meant that Kizuna could choose to not do Heart Hybrid with Nayuta and bet on his luck if she was going to make it or not. If he was going to be honest, he wasn't even sure if Heart Hybrid would work with a god or not. But, from the moment Osiris told him how he could help his mother, Kizuna only had one true option.

And, inside him, something was telling him "it'll work" "she'll live", that's why he didn't hesitate. He had no proof, but he knew Eros was still with him and he would use that power to save Nayuta… even if he had to throw all his morals away.

"N? Mm~ mnmn?"

When Nayuta came to, she saw some kind of light and also felt something strange. Looking behind her, she saw Kizuna, but also something else. Her kimono was pulled up, showing her small butt, and Kizuna was taking two of his fingers from inside her.

"Kizu,na?"

"Kaa-san? You woke up, thank goodness."

"What happened?"

Kizuna then explained as much as he knew. Nayuta confirmed his idea about Hypnos stealing her powers and gave her thoughts on what Osiris had said.

"Well, it looks like it worked. Thanks Kizuna. Now, let me…"

But, when Nayuta tried to stand, her strength gave in. Kizuna caught her and she asked to be lied back down. Kizuna put her on one of the cushioned seats.

"What happened, kaa-san?"

"I guess the energy you got me is enough to keep me conscious, but not for more than that. I know you didn't want to do it, so this much is fine. I think I'll make it with just this."

Kizuna looked at Nayuta's face. She looked like she was in pain, and it also looked like it was taking all her strength just to stay conscious.

Just as Nayuta had said, Kizuna had already done enough. He could stop now. But it was a fact that he had done it out of his own volition. If he already went this far, is there any reason to leave his mother like this?

So, for a while longer, Kizuna would forget that Nayuta was his mother and would treat her like any other woman.

"Kaa-san, let's continue."

"… It's true that we can't say for how long this amount of energy will keep me up, and it's best to stock it if possible, but… are you fine with this, Kizuna?"

Instead of answering with words, he did so with his actions. He wasn't taken by lust, rather, he was doing that because he was willing to do anything to save her.

Kizuna opened Nayuta's kimono, exposing her immature breasts. He groped them at first, and then sucked on them.

"Aam, nn~"

Although small, Kizuna could tell there was something on her chest. He used his tongue to stimulate her nipples and lightly bit at the erect tip, sending a shock of pleasure to her.

"How's that for an answer?"

"Fufu, really now…"

Kizuna spread Nayuta's legs and started playing with her part. His fingers touched and teased the wet place.

"Kizuna, it'll have a higher effect if we pleasure each other at the same time."

Of course, Kizuna knew what Nayuta meant. He couldn't exactly raise an objection now that he had done so much out of his own will. So he wasted no time getting to it.

Nayuta was already laying down, so Kizuna got on top of her. One's head was facing the other's crotch, it wasn't a hard position to imagine.

Kizuna took out his tongue. He licked Nayuta's crotch area. There was not a single strand of hair in that place and Kizuna's tongue left a wet trail until it reached her lower lips.

"Mmnn~ t-that's it."

Nayuta also did her part. She unzipped Kizuna's pants and took out his already erect part. Kizuna wasn't surprised since Nayuta had literally just talked about it and he didn't do anything to stop it.

"Already?"

"W-well, it can't be helped, can it?"

Kizuna wasn't lying. It had just been a natural reaction from his body. His mind was fully focused on keeping Nayuta alive, though he didn't know for how long said mind would last once the Heart Hybrid's effects kicked in.

Nayuta didn't even start with her hands. She didn't want to waste the energy and also didn't want to waste the opportunity she had been waiting for a while now. She opened her mouth and let the tip enter.

She used her tongue to tease the tip. Her tongue made circular movements as her lips kissed his shaft. Nayuta was trying to preserve her energy by not moving as much as possible, so this was about as much as she could do, unless…

Although it could be said he wanted her to save her energy, it really just was in involuntary reaction from his body. Kizuna started moving his hips up and down, making his hard thing go deeper into Nayuta's mouth.

Of course, she didn't complain about it, in fact, her own place showed him how much she was enjoying it. She sucked on it while she waited for her next climax.

"Mmnhh~ nnn~ mmnhhnnm~"

"Laaa, lllaaaa! Nhom."

Kizuna lightly bit Nayuta's clit. He used his tongue on the part that was in his mouth and also sucked on it.

Nayuta's next climax came soon. She burst open like a dam as her juices flowed out.

"!-!-!"

With her small mouth stuffed full of Kizuna, Nayuta couldn't even moan properly. Seeing that his job was done, Kizuna left Nayuta's place.

However, she didn't allow him to escape from her mouth. He only then noticed there had been no light, so the hybrid hadn't been completed.

"Oh, I see. Sorry, I almost missed it."

He knew what he needed to do.

They got into a better position. Nayuta was laying on her stomach and Kizuna was now standing next to her. Kizuna held onto Nayuta's head and she gave him the ok sign, so he started moving his hips.

"Ah! Mmh, nn!"

"Guuh, mmnnh~ nnn~mm~"

He backed out until just the tip was in and pushed in until her lips kissed the base. He did that repeatedly and faster each time.

Kizuna could feel her using her tongue inside her mouth, and Nayuta never failed to give his thing back shining with her saliva. Even though he never thought about doing this, Kizuna couldn't deny that he was feeling pleasure.

Maybe because he had been saving up, but Kizuna felt like he was about to cum.

"Ah! I'm, about, to-!"

Seeing as she didn't let go even as he tried to warn her, Kizuna didn't have another option.

For a few seconds, he let his body loose. Kizuna focused his all on thrusting and soon enough he couldn't hold back anymore. He shot his load once his everything was in Nayuta's mouth, giving her no other choice but to swallow it.

She drank until the last drop and then let him out with a kiss on the tip. The light then confirmed the Heart Hybrid had been a success.

However, the light didn't look like the normal Heart Hybrid. Instead of mixing together and going back to who they came from, their auras simply connected and mixed colors before disappearing. Kizuna had seen this the times he had made Nayuta climax before she woke up, but Nayuta was just now properly seeing it.

Nayuta tried getting up. She was able to, but a few seconds later had to sit back down. The energy from a normal Heart Hybrid didn't seem to last too long.

"Looks like this amount is still not enough. Let's keep going."

Nayuta pulled Kizuna towards her. She made him sit down and then took off his pants and unbuttoned his shirt. Nayuta then sat on his lap, their places touching.

She moved her small body, greasing his pole with her juices. She also embraced his neck and pressed her small chest on his.

She really was taking advantage of this. Kizuna's mind was starting to get hazy from the Heart Hybrid's side effect kicking in. It didn't usually affect him, but maybe it felt stronger now because his partner was a god?

"Nn~ this would be so much easier if we could just have sex, but I know the girls, and also Reiri, would kill me for it. But how far do you think we can go? Just the tip? Maybe a bit more? I say we just don't tell anyone."

As she said that, Nayuta pushed her entrance against his tip. She really did try to put him in. Was she also under the Heart Hybrid's side effect?

Kizuna thought she was just joking, so he didn't immediately catch on. Nayuta really did manage to get the tip in, but Kizuna stopped her. His mind still wasn't that far gone.

"Wait, wait. Let's not."

"Why? It'll be so much faster this way, and it'll also feel a lot better. No one needs to know~"

Nayuta's words sounded like a demon's whispers. Just the feeling on his tip made him want more, but Kizuna somehow resisted and stood his ground.

"No. I don't think the first time is something do be done in the heat of the moment. It's something special. That's why we won't do it, kaa-san. It'll be fine without it."

Seeing how serious Kizuna was, Nayuta gave up. They couldn't stop the hybrid now, but Kizuna couldn't allow them to go further. But then she asked how they could get even more energy, and Kizuna soon got an idea.

Nayuta's kimono was mostly off, and it covered almost nothing now. So Kizuna's mouth attacked her small breasts while his hands grabbed her small ass. He then started pleasuring those places.

"Aa-aann~"

Nayuta inevitably moved her body up and down, but Kizuna didn't let her move too much. Unconsciously, he didn't want to pull the tip out because of the pleasure he was getting, although there was a sense of familiarity with it, maybe due to all the experiences he had until now.

Although there wasn't really anything happening to it, Kizuna felt like his tip was being strongly teased. He could have finished right there, but knew he had to continue.

Kizuna sucked on Nayuta's breasts as if he had turned back into a baby. He massaged her small behind, his fingers sometimes coming close to her back hole, and at those moments, Kizuna noticed a stronger reaction from Nayuta.

"Well, I never used that place like that before."

Nayuta told Kizuna something he didn't really want to know. Even so, it could be turned into useful information. He had to focus on his original objective. He wasn't doing it out of lust, but to keep her alive.

Kizuna popped his finger in. It didn't go deep, but it was enough for the still sensitive Nayuta to climax. Of course, Kizuna, who was also still sensitive, also couldn't help himself.

"Mmmmmaaaaaa!"

"Ahh! Nn!"

Nayuta's juices flowed down from Kizuna's rod. He almost shot his load inside, but took it out and let it all out, hitting and covering her crotch area.

Once again, the light of the hybrid appeared, telling them they were successful. And once again it was the new lightshow. Once again, it might be because Nayuta doesn't have a core but is a god instead.

However, Kizuna was now taken by the Heart Hybrid's side-effect. He thought it would be best to go all the way until Climax Hybrid to make sure there would be no lack of energy for Nayuta.

Kizuna laid Nayuta in her stomach and finished taking off her kimono. He also took off the rest of his clothes.

Nayuta looked back at Kizuna for a second. In her eyes were heart marks, meaning she was under the hybrid's side effects.

"Kaa-san…"

Kizuna put his thing between Nayuta's small butt and started moving. Probably because it was rubbing against her back hole, Nayuta couldn't help but moan.

"Mm~ maa,nnn~"

However, that was not Kizuna's main objective. For the Climax Hybrid, he knew he'd have to do more, so he decided to use Nayuta's own logic against her.

Kizuna aimed and pushed into Nayuta's back hole. He stopped once just the tip was in and then pulled back out.

"A-aan~!"

"Just the tip is fine, right?"

"Nn~ you're quite bold today aren't you? Mmm~!"

Kizuna continued putting the tip in and pulling out. Both of them discovered just how sensitive Nayuta was on that part.

As he kept moving, Kizuna pinched Nayuta's nipples as he placed kisses on her back. That felt so good for Nayuta she ended up closing in on him.

"Gah! A-almost!"

Nayuta was getting tighter and Kizuna was starting to have trouble pulling out. And, because Kizuna was getting lost in his own lust and the hybrid's side effect, he was starting to put more than just the tip, but was still unconsciously holding himself back. Overall, he didn't put much in.

Kizuna let one of his hands move down on Nayuta's body. He put one of his fingers in as he used his palm to tease her bud covered in his white stuff.

Nayuta moved her waist, trying to make Kizuna feel even better.

"Mmm~ Kizunaaa!"

"T-there!"

Once again, their auras mixed, but this time they also grew. Meaning the Climax Hybrid had been a success.

Nayuta tightened around his finger and rod as her nipples got on the hardest state and her juices were shot out. Kizuna couldn't help but shoot even the last drop in her asshole, he was only allowed to pull out after that.

Kizuna's mind was slowly returning to its senses and Nayuta was falling asleep. He thought he might have heard her say "thank you" before falling asleep, but he wasn't sure.

Kizuna put his clothes back on and then dressed Nayuta. Not 10 minutes after, they arrived back at Odin's world and Osiris took care of Nayuta.

Of course, no one commented on anything. Kizuna wasn't sure how to feel about what he had done and it troubled him. Although a lot of things were going through his mind, Kizuna was sure of one thing.

Because he threw his morals away, his mother survived Hypnos' attack. Because of that, he could never forget or regret what he had done.


	17. Attack On The Base

Between worlds, Hypnos was looking at a specific place.

"It's been a few days and they haven't moved, so this must be their new place. I guess it's time to attack."

That is the real reason why Hypnos had let Kizuna and Nayuta go that day. So he could find and attack their base. Getting Nayuta's powers had just been a bonus.

He started focusing his power, but then ended up coughing blood. However, he already expected that to happen, so it didn't really disturb him.

Behind him, many "shadows" started appearing and taking form. Each of them got their own weapon ready and was waiting for Hypnos' signal.

"*cough* God damn, this is annoying. Alright you lot, attack that place and kill everyone there."

Following his orders, the "shadows" all moved towards the settlement-world. In a few minutes, they would reach that place and would use all their power to fulfil the order they had been given.

At the same time…

Kizuna was in the infirmary building along with Landred. They were in the room Hokuto was resting at.

Since they had been silent for most of the time, Landred decided to start asking.

"Kizuna, why are you here?"

"A-ah. Well, ever since me and my mother came back, everyone's been together with me. I just wanted some time along to think, so I thought this would be a good place. How's Hokuto?"

"She's doing good. Should wake up anytime now."

Kizuna replied with an "I see" and went back to being silent. At least, he would have if Landred hadn't continued the conversation.

"Is it about what you did? Are you having second thoughts, or need someone to talk to?"

"I don't regret what I did. My mother is alive because of it and it's nice to know that Eros is still here. B-but it's not something I ever expected to do, and I'm trying to get it out of my mind."

Although people weren't told exactly what had happened with Kizuna and Nayuta, with enough information, some were able to put things together. Unexpectedly, Landred had been one of them.

"Well, you had already done it with your sister, and now you did it with your mother. In both cases, there were special circumstances, at least from what I heard, but isn't it fine to let it go? And if you can't, why not talk with the person involved. It happened between you two, so it can be kept between you two. … I'd also like to add that, at any moment, I'm ready to do Connective Hybrid with you and Reiri."

Kizuna started laughing at Landred's joke, but then she said "I'm serious" so Kizuna got lost without knowing how to react, until Landred herself started laughing.

Thanks to Landred, Kizuna was able to cheer up, even if just a bit. He decided he should help her a little bit if he was going to stay there, so Kizuna helped Landred do some final checks on Hokuto.

Meanwhile…

"Grace, what are you thinking about?"

"O-oh, it's nothing, nee-sama."

Aine and Grace had gone to Kizuna's place to try to cheer him up, since he looked a bit down after coming back from the trip with his mother. Although they weren't informed about the specifics, they had heard Nayuta had her powers stolen and Kizuna had to fill her with energy so that she lasted enough for Osiris to do something about it.

They both had an idea of what had happened, but never gave it much thought for various reasons.

Aine and Grace went back to their own house and decided to laze about since they couldn't find Kizuna.

"You didn't hear anything that I said on the way, did you? What is it that you're thinking about so hard?"

"N-no, well…"

Grace was trying to decide if she should say it or not. Although it was nothing, or at least that's what she hoped, Grace decided to say her thoughts.

"I was thinking nii-sama and Professor Nayuta got off easy… no, let me rephrase that. That man's, Hypnos' main objective at the time was to kill nii-sama, right? Why would he give up on that just for a newborn god's powers? And even if he said he would, why would he keep his word when he could have easily killed nii-sama after taking Professor Nayuta's powers?"

"Wait, you mean…"

Aine stopped to think for a second. The thought that he was just a person who wouldn't break any promises didn't even cross her mind. It was bias, but Aine couldn't see Hypnos as anything but the worst after what he had done to Kizuna. So she started thinking.

There is one peculiar characteristic about the place they are right now. One that someone who steals a god's powers and wants both Kizuna and Thanatos dead would be very interested in.

Then, it was Aine's turn to give her thoughts.

"Grace, let's go meet Professor Nayuta and everyone and tell them this, just in case. We might have unintentionally put a big target in our own heads."

They had planned to just laze about, but then Aine and Grace dashed out of their house.

However, they wouldn't make it in time.

Somewhere else…

"In short, think of me as a cup of water that has a hole at the bottom. The water is my life force and I die if it runs out. The cup with a hole, me, will naturally lose water, life force, so I need to always have it refiled and the only one who can do that is Kizuna."

"That's just more of your bullshit. Osiris, how much of it is true?"

Reiri had just shut down Nayuta's argument and asked Osiris for how much of what had been said was true. Although it didn't bother her, Osiris thought that, for a god, she wasn't really being respected as she should.

"The comparison isn't wrong. However, I "patched" that hole as much as I could, so there's no need to constantly do Heart Hybrid anymore. There might be a need for a "refill" one day, but that day also might never come."

Odin then took the word. Kei wasn't with them in the command room today, so these were the only four present.

"I really am just getting more and more curious about the Heart Hybrid. Really, just find me an excuse and I'll do it, I want to try at least once."

"Have some dignity at least" Osiris commented.

"Are you going to tell me that, ever since your husband died, you never wanted to do it again? No way! I've decided, I'll also find you an excuse. We could even try it together."

Osiris' face got beet red. But, before she could talk back, Odin noticed something.

"There's something wrong. Get ready to fight, Osiris."

Osiris was confused at first, but soon she, and everyone else, noticed what was wrong.

An Entrance opened up at the sky. From there, many "shadows" came flying down. Odin materialized her lance and Osiris also got ready to fight.

"You two stay-!"

Before she could finish, a "shadow" came breaking through the walls. It's lance clashed with Odin's lance.

However, it was the shadow's figure that called everyone's attention. Although the outline was weak, one could make out the "shadow's" form.

"What? She looks just like you, Odin."

"Yes, I've noticed."

Exactly. The shadow had a form much like Odin's own.

However, it was much weaker. Odin easily blocked the attack and killed the shadow with a single strike.

The shadow disappeared. But, from behind, a new one came. And that one…

"What? That one looks like you."

Reiri commented to Nayuta as they were hidden, since they couldn't help in the fight. Nayuta just nodded, confirming she also noticed that the "shadow's" form was like her own. Odin and Osiris probably noticed that as well.

"Heh, looks like this'll get interesting. You ready, Osiris? I hope your sword is not as dusty as your p-"

"Stop before I decide to kill you first. Anyway, if this is what I think it is, I can't let you do all the fighting. Things are going to get ugly."

Odin and Osiris headed towards their next enemy.

As for Kizuna…

"Run away, now. Take Hokuto with you."

"O-ok."

Landred pushed Hokuto's bed as she ran away from that room. Luckly, the beds had wheels on them for times like these.

The reason why Kizuna had told Landred to get out was that one of those "shadows" had broken through the wall and entered the room. Kizuna was fast to equip his Eros. It didn't look like it had any problems, which was a relief.

He wasn't wearing his pilot suit and he hadn't done Climax Hybrid with anyone, so his condition was the worst. Well, he had done it with Nayuta, but he didn't know if it gave him anything.

But even so, Kizuna could at least let Landred and Hokuto escape. He powered his thrusters and blasted off towards the shadow.

However, his Eros displayed much better performance than normal. It was a bit weaker than his Zeros Mode, but still much stronger than the normal Eros. Could this be because he did Climax Hybrid with a god?

Kizuna landed a punch in the shadow's face and stomach. However, nothing much happened and he was easily hit to the side.

"Gah!"

His back hit the wall with enough strength to make cracks. The shadow then materialized a sword and was ready to kill him.

However…

"Hah!"

Another sword, much similar to the one the shadow was holding, pierced through the shadow itself. For a split second, Kizuna thought that the shadow's figure and the figure of the girl who had saved him looked almost identical.

It was then that Kizuna realized who it was that had saved him.

"Hokuto?"

Indeed. Hokuto had just woken up and saved him.

Her strength gave in and she fell on top of Kizuna. Landred then came back in the room

"She woke up as soon as we got out and rushed back here."

"What? Hokuto, are you ok?"

"I've felt better, but I've also been worst. The last thing I remember before falling unconscious is you helping me, so, when I woke up, something brought me here and I ended up saving you."

Kizuna got up and helped Hokuto up. He and Landred helped her stand.

"For now, let's head out and see what's happening."

Kizuna said and they headed out.

This was the beginning of Hypnos' attack.


	18. Note 2

**Hey, how you doing? You just finished the second batch of chapters. This one was more for build-up and giving info, but I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **I'll start by saying this, Kizuna and Osiris' "journey" was supposed to make it in here, but I decided to cut it out since the batch would have gotten really big if I had kept it in.**

 **Besides, there's going to be a moment on this story that I'll need everyone to know that some time has passed, but I didn't want to just snap my fingers and "X amount of time passed", so I decided to save this, plus a few other things, for that moment.**

 **And there's also going to be some things that happen there that will only become important later on. Since people could forget about them in the meantime, it's best to actually show them once they become important.**

 **But you might want to check the first few lines of the second chapter of this batch again just to give you an idea.**

 **Now let's see what else is there… I showed Thanatos, Eros and the mysterious man's past and relation in this batch (and also his name, but I've learned that some people read the notes first, so I'll try to avoid spoilers… maybe).**

 **The other "mysterious man's" name was also revealed, but the "mysterious woman's" name wasn't. I'll save that for later, but, like I've always said, a simple google search might get you the answer.**

 **Also, if you didn't understand the first half of the first chapter of this batch, try reading it after you've read the chapter that tells the connection between these bunch of characters whose names I'm too lazy to write again right now.**

 **And, regarding the mythological base… I'm pretty sure it's wrong and I'm just borrowing names, but I'm sure no one minds. The author made Odin a female, I'm sure everyone can forgive me.**

 **Speaking of mythical stuff, starting next batch, I plan to introduce new gods into the story. I'll start with a simple one, though he'll give Kizuna some trouble.**

 **What else do I have to talk about… oh yeah. There was that chapter which was basically about Kizuna and Thanatos going to a new home. The original idea for that chapter was to do a brief introduction of all the characters I plan to use as harem members and feature them exclusively, but I ended up with a bigger cast. Just know that they are there, and there's also a few extras thrown in.**

 **I wanted to have a few more chapters with Kizuna being dead (because, if you're reading after I've posted this, then it was like: Kizuna died - forward 1 or 2 chapters - Kizuna is alive), but I'll say that I kinda like the small bits of emotion on that chapter. Everyone needs to stay strong, so they couldn't just stay there crying about Kizuna's death, but they couldn't hold back anymore once they saw he was alive. I also kept those scene short both to not have to develop every scene and because I wanted to make it clear that it was a short burst of emotion.**

 **Also, someone already asked me this, but I think it's important to say it here. Will there be bonus chapters if there aren't any ecchi ones in the batch?**

 **Honestly, I can't say there will or won't be batches like this. In case there are, I guess it would depend on how the batch feels. In short, only time will tell.**

 **And no, not every second last chapter of the batch will be the ecchi one or there will only be one ecchi chapter per batch. I know It happened for two batches in a roll, but I plan to break that next batch.**

 **Well, I hope you've been enjoying so far. Things have heated up, but they're going to get even hotter next time, so I'll see you some other time.**


	19. Defend

Kizuna was walking with Hokuto and Landred. Being the only one who was in condition to fight, he had to protect the other two.

As soon as they came out of the infirmary building, all three noticed how bad things were. "Shadows" similar to the ones who attacked Kizuna were everywhere and everyone was doing their best against them.

"Captain!"

Sylvia, already equipped with Taros, landed right in front of Kizuna. Following his line of sigh to where she was, Kizuna could see that Ralgrus, along with Yurishia and Hayuru were fighting another one of those "shadows".

"Sylvia, what's going on?"

"We don't know yet. But everyone who can't fight is being moved to a certain building so they don't get caught up in the fight desu."

Kizuna asked where that building was. Once Sylvia told him, he said he would leave Landred and Hokuto there and come back to help.

On the way there, Kizuna met with another one of the "shadows". He was ready to defend himself and Hokuto and Landred, but, before he could even do anything, Aine landed a punch in what should be the shadow's face.

Still, the "shadow" got back up in a matter of seconds. One couldn't even tell it had suffered any damage.

"Shit, these guys are quite strong."

Aine said as she held her own hand. Looks like she hurt herself more than the shadow with that punch.

"Where's Grace?"

"She and Zel are taking care of another one of these over there. I came here because I saw you and I assumed you'd like some help."

"Yeah, I'm going to take Hokuto and Landred to where everyone's hiding."

The shadow then started running towards Kizuna and Aine. They both got into fighting position and managed to hit the shadow's face once it came close enough. That bought them a few extra seconds.

"Then, I guess I'll accompany you three."

"No, you should stay with Grace and Zel. That place is not far from here and I plan to go back as soon as I leave them, so it's more profitable if you continue to help Grace."

The shadow tried to attack again, but Kizuna intercepted it. Well, he tried to, but even after multiple punches it didn't amount to much.

That was when Aine kicked the shadow, sending it away for a few more seconds. Even she wasn't able to truly damage it, but at least she gained some distance.

"You can't even beat one of these on your own. Let me help."

"It's not like you can either. Like I said, it's better if you stick with Grace. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"What? I'm stronger than you, you know? Besides, I also don't intend to let you get hurt either, so I'm going with you no matter what."

"I-I can't really argue against you being stronger. But still!"

"H-hum, I don't mean to be rude to either of you, but I think it's best if you discuss your relationship at another time."

Landred had to interrupt the two, since it didn't look like they'd be done anytime soon.

Then, a loud sound came from a place near them. Grace had just been throw through a house (presumably by one of the shadows). A shadow showed up to attack her, but Zelcyone managed to protect Grace.

Even just looking at her face, one could tell that it was taking all of Zelcyone's strength just to hold the shadow. Even so, while she held the shadow's arm with her whip, Zelcyone said.

"I won't forgive anyone who hurt Grace-sama or Ainess-sama."

Seeing that, Kizuna told Aine.

"Aine, go help them. I promise we'll be fine, so leave it to me."

Although she really looked like she didn't want to leave Kizuna alone, Aine nodded and headed towards her sister.

Kizuna said "come on" and ran along with Landred and Hokuto. Maybe it was just their luck, but they didn't get attacked anymore on the way.

Still, they saw that everyone was fighting. Masters, Quartum, and obviously Amaterasu and everyone else. Just how many of these "shadows" were there?

Kizuna left Landred and Hokuto at the safe building. Apparently, Valdy was there to make sure they would be able to escape if one of the "shadows" came here.

"Thanks for bringing us here, Kizuna."

"Wait. Take this, you can probably make more use of it than me right now."

Right after saying this, Hokuto materialized her sword and gave it to Kizuna. He didn't know if she should be doing this since she had just woken up, but now that she had, he couldn't not take it.

After saying thanks, Kizuna headed out.

"Wait" but he was stopped again. This time, it was Thanatos.

"Thanatos. Are you fine?"

"Yeah. But more importantly than that, these things, no one can fight them, can they?"

Kizuna told Thanatos the truth. It's not like it was a hopeless fight, but it was a fact that the enemy outnumbered and was much stronger than them.

That's when Thanatos made a proposal.

"I've heard that you have some kind of power-up ability. I don't know the specific details of it, but I want you to try it with me. Even if my power is too low right now to make a difference, it should at least do something for you."

"T-that…"

It's not like Kizuna wouldn't have liked it, but there were a few problems with that idea. The shadows likely wouldn't give them enough time and Thanatos herself likely didn't know what she was asking for him to do to her, so Kizuna didn't want to take advantage of that.

But the idea itself wasn't bad. If only… no, there was something that could be done. Actually, there was the possibility of it not working, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"There is something, but… you're not going to get angry, are you?"

"No! Just do whatever you need to."

"Alright. Then…"

Kizuna slightly raised Thanatos' chin, then, he placed his lips on top of hers. His objective was the Kischarge Hybrid. He hadn't used it in a while, but if it worked it could be turned into a great last minute resource for this battle.

At first, Thanatos tried to resist Kizuna's kiss, but she soon gave up and let him do as he pleased. Still, since he didn't want to make her thing he was taking advantage of the situation, Kizuna didn't do more than needed.

Surprising both Kizuna and Thanatos, they could feel the energy rising and being released. It worked. The Kisscharge Hybrid with Thanatos was a success.

After the kiss ended, while Thanatos was still trying to process what had happened, Kizuna opened and closed his hands. With this power and Hokuto's sword, he could likely fight the shadows.

"Thanatos, it worked. Thanks. I'll be going now, so get back in so you don't get hurt."

"Y-yeah."

Kizuna went away while Thanatos walked back in. Inside her, she could feel some sort of heat, or energy.

'Maybe it would be worth having Nayuta take a look at this later' she thought.

As he flew, Kizuna saw Yurishia and Hayuru fighting one of these shadows (although he couldn't tell if it was still the same from before).

Without even asking, Kizuna came swinging Hokuto's sword. He got a clean hit on the shadow and sent it to the ground. As soon as they noticed what had happened, Hayuru pinned the shadow down with her Blades and Yurishia finished it off.

"Where's Sylvia and Ralgrus?"

"Ralgrus got hit pretty bad and Sylvia went to get her."

Yurishia answered Kizuna. Although he wasn't very close to Ralgrus, he hoped she wasn't hurt too bad.

"Hayuru, could you go looking for them, they could be needing some help."

"Got it."

"Yurishia, I plan to go help out whoever I find. I know that Grace was having trouble with one of them and Aine went to help, but I didn't see them again. Can you go check on them?"

"Sure."

After nodding to each other, the tree of them went they separate ways.

Kizuna helped out whoever he found and told them where to take the injured. Although he wasn't able to easily defeat these shadows, he was able to fight them with less difficulty than the others.

And, after some time had passed, Kizuna ended up meeting with Odin and Osiris, who were easily defeating every shadow they came across.

"Hoh, looks like you can also fight them, Kizuna."

"That sword, is it Hokuto's? So she woke up?"

Although they were able to deal with the opponent without much trouble, they were still heavily outnumbered. So Kizuna decided to help them out even if he couldn't do much.

While that was happening, Kizuna told them what he knew and asked if they knew anything else. They told him what they knew.

As they talked, the shadows started focusing around them, making so that everyone who was still uninjured also showed up there.

"But still, this doesn't seem good. It's like we can't really defeat them."

"Yes, I've also noticed that they tent to just "come back" after some time has passed. I think it's best if just the three of us stay."

Although Osiris didn't say who those three were, Aine instinctively knew.

"What are you saying? Since there doesn't seem to be an end, shouldn't we all fight as much as we can?"

What Aine said was valid, but Odin cruelly broke her argument.

"This will be a battle of endurance. Meaning, it'll be worst for us if we have to save somebody who shouldn't be in the battlefield. Me and Osiris can't handle this alone, that's why we need Kizuna to stay even if he's just barely hanging on. But as for you all… it takes three of you just to push back one of these shadows, and even more to defeat one. If you stay, there's a high chance you'll be defeated."

Odin merely stated facts. Even Kizuna was only able to help because the Kisscharge Hybrid was still in effect. It had been lasting a lot longer than the other times he used it, but likely because he had done it with Thanatos or because he hasn't fought in a good time.

Although no one wanted to admit it, Odin's argument was being proven correct with each second. Even Osiris backed it up. While Kizuna and the goddesses were still able to fight properly, everyone else's stamina was starting to run out.

Maybe because this reminded her of what she did when she was still with the Masters, but Yurishia was the first one to speak after all that.

"They're right. We'll just be dead weight here. We should retreat back to the safe building and make sure none of these things reach that place."

No one was satisfied with this, but they all saw the expression on Yurishia's face and knew she didn't like this anymore than they did. Once Hayuru voiced her agreement, everyone had to start to give in.

"Then, Sylvia, can you open a path?"

"Yes desu!"

Sylvia aimed and fired her cannon while also receiving some support from the others. They opened an escape path and left that place.

"Well now, I guess we just have to hold on."

Although Odin commented as if it was nothing, none of them were sure just how long they would be able to hold these shadows back. The Kisscharge Hybrid's effects wouldn't last for much longer either, and if only Odin and Osiris were left to fight, it was only a matter of time until they were defeated.

Meanwhile, Hypnos was observing the battle.

"They're more resistant than I thought they were. Since this doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon, I was about to sneak in there just to kill Thanatos, but I can't do it now that there's people to protect that place. I guess I'll have to push more."

Hypnos started focusing his power. His plan was to make even more of those "shadows".

However, he was stopped by the person who said the following lines.

"This looks interesting. Care to explain to me what's going on?"

Once Hypnos saw who said that, he could only click his tongue.

Odin threw her lance forward, which pierced many of the "shadows". Kizuna advanced forward along with Osiris, they both attacked with their swords. While Osiris was able to slash a shadow in a single strike, it took Kizuna about two or three to do the same. Not to mention that, while both goddesses were still fine, Kizuna was starting to pant.

"I see you're still learning how to use that sword."

"Y-yeah. Pah. I'm still not used to it and it's, pah, very different from Neros' sword."

"In that case, instead of just slashing, why don't you try something like this?"

Osiris then focused her energy on her sword and slashed at nothing. However, the shockwave from the slash hit the shadows, finishing a row of them.

She then explained to Kizuna how to do it and he tried it out. While not as effective as Osiris', it still dealt with a fair share of enemies.

"You're a fast learner Kizuna. Good job."

"T-thanks."

"K-Kizuna!"

Kizuna panted even harder, he was getting tired. Hokuto's sword got too heavy for him to hold it up and even his body felt heavy. Kizuna didn't have the strength to keep his body up anymore and was going to fall down. Maybe that was the Kisscharge Hybrid's effects ending with that last energy swing.

But Osiris caught him before he finished falling, so he fell face first into her chest. Never mind how that looked, they didn't have the time or energy to really care about it. Osiris had to keep fighting while she kept Kizuna close.

"Heh, things aren't looking good. Or maybe you two are having fun, depending on the perspective."

"Shut up. How about you? Still fine?"

"Kinda."

Even Odin was starting to have trouble. Although it wasn't much, some of her power had been stolen by Hypnos, so she wasn't in her best condition.

However, as luck would have it, the shadows all did a motion similar to a person looking up. The next second, another Entrance opened up and a lighting strike fell from it.

Although Kizuna, Osiris and Odin didn't know what that was, it made the shadows run towards the Entrance. However, it looked like there was someone catching the shadows and finishing them.

"Looks like you need some help, Odin."

"! This voice!"

Whoever it was, they easily finished the shadows they caught. A few of them got away, but it looked like it was more because the person couldn't be bothered to chase them.

Once everything was done, the dust settled and the shadows were all gone, the person revealed themselves. It was a young man who had done all of that.

He seemed disinterested in Kizuna and company, so he just started at the sky as the Entrance closed.

"You know him?" Osiris asked Odin, as that seemed to be the case.

"Yup. I'm sure everyone knows him even if just by name. He's Odin's son, my son, Thor."

At first, Kizuna's mind didn't register that properly and he answered with just an "I see", but then a few seconds passed and he thought back to what he had just heard and went "wait, what?!"

With Thor's arrival, they were able to survive Hypnos' attack.


	20. Challenge

"So, hum, you're Thor, the Thor, right?"

"Yeah."

The man who said that was indeed the Norse god Thor. He had short silver hair, which looked like it had been recently cut, fierce red eyes, even though he didn't seem angry, and his body, although similar to Kizuna's, was a lot more muscular.

Although Kizuna couldn't really compete. Kizuna's current body was more muscular than his previous one, but that's because Odin just figured she'd do something like that.

Thor's face looked like he had recently shaved his beard, which made him look not that much older than Kizuna. He also wasn't much taller than Kizuna.

"In any case, Thor, would you mind helping us figure out what happened?"

"Sure. Just tell me what you know."

After the attack had ended, or rather, it had been put to an end by Thor, Kizuna and the goddesses met up with the people in the safe building. Although it took some time to process what had happened, Nayuta said she wanted to talk with Thor, so he was asked to stay a bit longer.

They were using the command room to talk. Along with Nayuta and Thor, there were Odin, Osiris and Kizuna. Reiri and the others had been going around checking the damages.

"I'm guessing Hypnos let me and Kizuna go so that he could find this place. Once he found it, he send those… let's call them shadow gods for the sake of simplicity. He send them here so that he could deal with all his problems at once."

"… I can't really confirm any of that, but I did see a man before coming here. It looked like he was the one behind the attack and he was ready to send reinforcements before I stopped him. He said something about it not being worth the risk now that I had shown up and fled. Heh, I know he couldn't defeat me anyway, but he could have at least tried. But if I knew Odin was here I would have just sit back and watched."

"Looks like he doesn't like you heh" Osiris commented to Odin, who answered with "it's just a rebellious phase, though it has been lasting for… a long time now."

Kizuna asked if they shouldn't warn Thor about Hypnos' powers, and Nayuta said that they should. Thor listened to their explanation.

Meanwhile, Osiris talked with Odin.

"Still, I never knew you had a son. I mean, I had heard about him in mythology, but I didn't know you had actually given birth."

"But I didn't give birth to him. I actually found him back when he was a baby and raised him since then. I didn't give birth to him, but he is my son."

"I see. Also, I've meant to ask you this for a while, but why did people mistake you for a man in the legends?"

"I dunno. It could be because on my first night with Freya. I know I can be a bit aggressive in bed, but I never heard someone cry so much, though I don't know if it was out of fear or pleasure."

In the legends, Freya was Odin's wife. From Odin's story, there seems to be some truth behind that. Still, Osiris decided to not inquire anymore into this before she discovered something she didn't want to. Besides, Osiris' own situation is similar, so it's best for her to stop before digging her own grave.

While the goddesses talked, Kizuna and Nayuta finished explaining everything to Thor.

"So that's how it is. Thanks for warning me. Well then, I'll be going now."

Thor got up and was ready to leave that place. Not only Kizuna and Nayuta, but also Osiris and Odin were a bit surprised.

As he opened the door, he was surprised by Gertude, who was about to enter the command room.

"Excuse me."

"Y-yes."

As she watched Thor pass, Gertude's eyes were glued to Thor. She didn't even notice Nayuta, along with Osiris and Odin, going past her and only pushed a bunch of papers to Kizuna's chest.

"Your sister asked me to hand this over, it's a damage report or something. Who was that?"

"Ah, he's Thor. You know, a god. … Did he catch your attention Ger-san?"

"Are you really going to call me by that damn nickname?! A-and I was just looking at him cause he's really handsome you know. Don't try to find meaning behind it."

Kizuna said "yeah yeah" and handled the papers back to Gertude and asked her to leave them in the room. He then also went after Thor.

Meanwhile…

"Wait Thor, listen. Don't you want to stay here? It'll be safer for you and us both."

"For you, surely. But for me, no. If something like that attacks happens again I'd end up having to defend the people here. I'm no hero, so I can't be bothered with that. Besides, the fact that that Hypnos guy ran away just from seeing me already says he knows he can't beat me, so I have nothing to fear to begin with."

They were having a discussion in the middle of the street. Everyone was hearing them. People might not know who Thor is, but they knew he was responsible for their survival in the last attack.

People's attention turned towards Thor, with Nayuta and the goddesses trying to convince him to stay.

"What's going on here?"

Aine had been the one to call out. She stood in front of Thor to stop him from advancing until she found out what was happening.

But Thor didn't seem to like that, so he said with clear anger in his voice.

"Get out of my way. Don't make me hurt you."

If people's attention was being directed at Thor before, now everyone's looking at him and Aine. From the crowd of people, the rest of Amaterasu except Kizuna were starting to show up.

"I heard what you were saying before. I'm not going to say we aren't weak. We are weak, at least when compared to you gods. But, even so… I've learned that even those that are weak can fight. Even if you don't care about helping us, don't you have anything to gain from joining us? Can't you at least consider it?"

Although Aine didn't give any hints of it, the person in her mind while she spoke that even the weak can fight was Kizuna. When he first arrived in Ataraxia, his combat power was pretty much zero, but, while going through multiple trials, he somehow managed to bring an end to the AU war and can be considered one of the leading figures in this current battle. That's why Aine could clearly say what she did.

"I've fought my fair share of battles, so I know what you're talking about. Even so, it doesn't change that this has nothing to do with me. If this Hypnos guy does come after me, then I'll deal with him myself. And even if I can't, would anyone here be able to help me with that?"

"Then, why don't you test it out? How about a fight?"

To that, not only Thor, but also everyone present showed their surprise.

"… What? I could probably take a whole team of people here and still win. A one on one is out of the question."

"Oh, it's so convenient that you mentioned this. I was about to suggest it myself."

Yurishia voiced out. Of course, she meant that she would be helping Aine. After her, Hayuru and Sylvia also showed up.

"If they're going to fight, we'll also go."

"We are a team after all desu."

Thor was about to dismiss all that saying it was ridiculous, but then Odin was the one who stepped up.

"Isn't this good? I was planning on following you around until I annoyed you to joining, but this seems a lot more interesting. How about it? One fight with the girls from… Amaterasu, was it? If they win, you have to help us, if you win, you can go and I won't follow you."

"… Tsk. Knowing you, you'd really follow me around everywhere. I don't really have a choice then. I'll win anyway, so I'll stick around for a while more."

Thor's voice made it clear, he really thought he couldn't lose to them. That made the girls' fighting spirit light up.

From hearing that, the commotion only grew larger. Odin said "it's settled then" and said they'd think about the details later.

"Sorry, let me pass. Ah, kaa-san, what's going on? Did Thor leave?"

It was only then that Kizuna arrived. It took him a while to pass the crowd. Nayuta honestly answered his question.

"Kizuna, Odin just did something even I wouldn't think of or have the courage to do. Let's just hope things end up fine."

Kizuna hadn't understood it at that moment. Later, once everything was explained to him, Kizuna's surprised voice could be heard echoing everywhere.


	21. Beggining of Tranining

And so a day has passed since Odin arranged the fight between Amaterasu and Thor.

After what happened, Odin discussed a few things with the girls and Thor. In the end, they agreed for the battle to take place in a week in an arena in Odin's world.

The winner's prize was as stated before. If the girls win, Thor has to stay and help them deal with Hypnos. If Thor wins, he can leave and do as he pleases.

Kizuna tried to stop the fight, but none of the sides would back down. So he tried to join in with the girls, but he wasn't permitted to do so. Even though he is the captain of Amaterasu, the girls said that they picked this fight, so they would settle it with their own strength.

The following day, Aine went to visit Grace and Zelcyone in the infirmary building.

Grace had been knocked out by one of the shadow gods not long after Aine and Kizuna met up, she woke up a few hours after the fight ended, but it was better for her to rest for a little while. Zelcyone had gotten hurt while protecting Grace, so that's why she was there.

Aine decided to tell them about the fight with Thor.

"And that's basically what happened."

"N-nee-sama, are you serious?"

Grace didn't even try to hide the surprise in her voice. Zelcyone however acted in a more composed manner.

"I see. Then, me and Grace-sama, along with Quartum, Ralgrus, Hyakurath and Mercuria, shall get healed soon and join your fight."

"A-ah, no, don't hurry yourselves. Of course I want everyone to get better soon, but even if you get well before the fight, it'll still be only us from Amaterasu fighting. We didn't even let Kizuna join in afterwards, so of course we're not going to let anyone else."

"Nii-sama won't fight?"

With just that bit of information, Grace seemed to understand Aine's intention. She nodded and said "I understand. In that case, I'll be cheering for everyone."

"Grace-sama?"

"Thank you, Grace."

Although she had yet to understand, Zelcyone decided to let it pass as something between sisters.

After a few seconds, Aine stood up. Before she left, she said.

"Well, I have to go check on the others now. That's also my job as emperor of Vatlantis."

Both Grace and Zelcyone said their farewells and saw Aine leave. Aine would visiti everyone in the infirmary building before going on with her plans.

Inside every house in this settlement-world Odin created, there were the everyday necessities. Of course, that includes a bath.

While none of the houses had anything that could be described as luxurious, they still offered enough comfort for everyone.

And right now, Osiris was taking a bath. She was feeling somewhat tired from the fight against the shadow gods, so she was taking a bit longer than usual.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Osiris heard a voice and turned around. The one who came in was Yurishia.

Ever since they came to this world, Yurishia and Osiris had been sharing a house, so they were living together. Since Yurishia looked a lot like Osiris' deceased daughter, she wanted to get closer to her and, after going through a few things, they did become closer.

"Oh, Yurishia. Sorry I took longer than usual. I'll be leaving soon."

"No, I don't mind if you stay. In fact, I'd say I want you to stay a little more."

After saying that, Yurishia covered her hands with soap. Then, she started scrubbing Osiris' back while also massaging it.

"I figured you were tired, so I thought I should help you today."

"I-I see. Thanks."

It was indeed true that Osiris was tired, so she didn't deny the help.

After Yurishia finished with Osiris' back, she helped her wash her hair. Once that was done, Osiris asked to be the one to help Yurishia. Yurishia said there was no need to, but Osiris insisted on it.

"Sorry. I was supposed to make you relax, but now I'm having you do this for me."

"Don't worry about it. And… if I'm going to be honest, this kinda takes me back to a time long, long ago."

"Because of your… sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine."

Osiris finished with Yurishia's back and moved on to her hair.

She let some air out of her mouth and then said.

"It is true that, originally, I only held interest in you because you look like my daughter. Maybe I thought I could pretend you were her or something. But as time passed, I started to see you for who you are. Nowadays, I can't help but also see you as my daughter. Not Isis, but as a daughter I never gave birth to."

Osiris rinsed Yurishia's hair.

"Maybe you think I'm annoying or something, so, if you want, I'll do my best to stop that."

"… I won't lie, I did find it a little annoying at the start. You were just this random woman who wanted to get close to me. But then, Kizuna died. I was… you know how I was. And at that time, you were there for me. You were close as a friend, so I felt I could open up to you, and also gentle as a mother, which helped me so much. So, well, I don't hate it, so you don't have to stop acting the way you do."

Yurishia turned to look at Osiris, who got a bit teary eyed. Osiris wiped her eyes with her hands, but Yurishia then said "come here" and gave Osiris a hug.

They held the other tightly in their arms. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it did get their feelings across.

And because of that, Osiris felt like it was the time to ask.

"Are you really going to fight him, Thor?"

"Yeah."

"But he's a god. One of the strongest ones at that. I don't want to see you get hurt, so-"

"Even so, it's something we have to do. Both for ourselves and for everyone else. Even if we lose, even if we get hurt, it's something we feel like we need to do."

Osiris was seeing first hand Yurishia's determination. She had said not long ago that she thought of Yurishia like a daughter, so she couldn't turn a blind eye to that.

So, at that moment, Osiris made her own decision.

She got up from her position and told Yurishia to also stand up. She looked into Yurishia's eyes as she said.

"Alright then. If it is what you want, I'll support you. I'll help you and the others."

"T-thanks, really" Yurishia showed Osiris a sincere smile and got another one back in response.

Osiris then tried to change the mood.

Taking advantage that they were both standing up, Osiris gave Yurishia's butt a light slap as she said.

"Well, first things first, we have to finish this bath."

"Y-yeah. Haha."

Yurishia laughed at what Osiris did. Then, they finished their bath.

Hayuru had finished her bath not long ago and was getting dressed. Her roommate, Sylvia, had just come out of the bath as well.

They were both silently getting dressed. There was no need for one to say anything to the other, they both knew what they should do and why they were doing it.

Hayuru finished getting dressed first. She then waited until Sylvia was finished.

"Sylvia, are you ready?"

"Yes desu."

With both of them ready, they left their house and went to where they needed to go.

They headed for the Vatlantis Imperial battleship. Although the ship wasn't being used for transportation, it was still being kept here in case they needed to escape all at once, it also functioned as a command center.

They entered the ship's command room. Since the person they were looking for wasn't there, they asked about her whereabouts and headed to where they were told to go.

However, they had a surprise meeting on the way.

"Oh, so everyone came."

"I guess we all had the same idea."

The ones Hayuru and Sylvia met were Yurishia and Aine. Hayuru and Sylvia had talked this over, that's why they were together, but Aine and Yurishia apparently also had the same idea. What a coincidence.

Since that was the case, Hayuru told the other two to come with them. They would meet this person together.

And so they did.

On the ship's deck, Odin was there, as if waiting for them.

"I had a feeling about this, but you all actually did come. I know what you're going to ask, but let's hear it."

Odin had her back turned to them, but then she turned around and faced them. Then, the four girls from Amaterasu stepped forward and said all at the same time.

"Odin, we would like it if you could train us for the battle with Thor."

"I refuse."

"E-eh?"

Odin's near instantaneous response surprised the girls. It's not like Odin had any obligation to help them, but they also didn't expect to be turned down so easily.

"Don't get me wrong, you all got the right idea. But I want to stay as a neutral mediator until the end. Besides, I'm the one who taught that boy how to fight, so you'd have a bit of an unfair advantage over him if I helped you all."

What Odin said made sense, and if she said she wanted to stay neutral until the end, there's nothing they can say about it. The girls could only give up.

"I see. We're sorry for disturbing you."

After Aine said that, they were all about to leave, but then Odin called them back.

"Wait. I said you all had the right idea, didn't I? I'm not the only one here that can help you."

The girls then turned back to look at Odin again. Odin then said "come out already" and they noticed there was someone behind them.

It was Osiris. She appeared once Odin called her and her face looked a bit annoyed.

"No no, I see how it is. All four of you prefer Odin over me. Really, and I even told Yurishia I'd help you all. I thought she went to call you three, but you were all taking so long that I went to check what had happened and look at what I find."

The first thing that happened was that the three other girls directed their eyes to Yurishia, as if asking why she didn't tell them about this, Yurishia answered saying she didn't think that's what Osiris meant.

They then looked at Odin again. Before they said anything, Odin told them "I once battled with Osiris. It ended in a draw. So I'll leave calming her down to you four" which only made the girls swallow their saliva.

Yurishia was then pushed forward by three forces of mysterious origin and certainly wasn't pushed forward by her teammates. There was no backing down now.

"O-Osiris, c-could you help us prepare for the battle with Thor?"

If one peeked into the girls' hearts, they would see they were scared no matter what the answer was.

"Of course. I said I would, didn't I? Don't worry, I'll roughen the four of you enough that no god will be able to put a dent on you. Come on, we're starting right now. We only got a week after all."

Osiris started walking right after saying that. Although the Amaterasu girls has smiles on their faces, their hearts were completely taken by fear.

Luckily, they survived the training… or at least managed to get to the day of the battle.


	22. Preparations For A Future Battle

On the same day were Aine and the others were going to ask Odin to train them to ultimately have Osiris do that...

Kizuna had been sleeping like a rock. Maybe it was mental and physical fatigue from Hypnos' attack and what happened after it.

But even like that, he felt something, or someone, disturbing his sleep. It was then that he heard a familiar voice.

"Kizuna~ wake uuuppp~ or else~"

Kizuna opened his eyes in order to confirm who the owner of the voice was even though he already knew.

"Nee-chan? What are you- what?!"

What surprised Kizuna wasn't that it was Reiri who was speaking, he already knew that. What surprised him was that his sister was on top of him. Taking a quick look to the sides, he noticed they were the only ones in the room, so luckily Gertude and Thanatos weren't there to see that.

Reiri was already close, but then she got even closer. She put her breasts on top of his chest as she said.

"Good morning."

"O-oh, good mor-!"

Before Kizuna could even finish replying, Reiri grabbed his face and gave him a good morning kiss. But it wasn't a kiss on the cheeks. Their lips touched and Reiri's tongue made its way into Kizuna's mouth.

Kizuna was taken by surprised and showed no action at first. Since the only piece of clothing Kizuna was wearing were thin sleep pants, they couldn't even hide his state properly. Since he wore noting on his upper body, he could perfectly feel Reiri's breasts even through her clothes.

After a few seconds, Kizuna broke their kiss. Although it took all his might to not launch an attack on her lips after that.

"N-nee-chan, what is this?"

"I was told to come wake you up since you were taking so long. And, I don't know why but, I felt like I should put all my heart and express all my feelings when doing this. That's why, Kizuna…"

Reiri grabbed Kizuna's hand and put it on her chest. He could feel her heartbeat as she said the next words.

"Don't just pay attention to other girls. Pay attention to me as well. I also love you Kizuna, I also want to see you show me your love."

Kizuna didn't know how to react. Was this… a love confession? From his sister? It all happened to suddenly for Kizuna to properly think about it.

From his hand on her chest, he could feel her heartbeat. That's why he knew those were her feelings and she wasn't lying to him.

Reiri's face approached Kizuna's once again, it was another kiss. This time, partially out of reflex, Kizuna responded to her kiss.

Their tongues danced around as Reiri tightly held Kizuna in an embrace. Kizuna's mind was still trying to make sense out of everything as his hands touched Reiri's back and brought her closer. Maybe having to process how nice it felt to touch Reiri was one of the things that was making Kizuna's mind take a long time to think about what was happening.

Kizuna switched their positions. He laid Reiri down and was now on top of her. The kiss continued for a few seconds more before they had to take in some air.

"Kizuna."

"N-nee-chan…"

Reiri once again went for a kiss, but this time, she only went halfway. Kizuna was about to go the other half before they were stopped.

"Wait wait wait! Stoooopp!"

"A-ah!"

Nayuta came rushing in and snapped her fingers. The next second, Reiri's eyes opened wide and then closed themselves. Had she lost consciousness?

"Phew, made it in time. I wouldn't hear the end of it if it continued for a little more."

"K-kaa-san, what happened? Don't tell me this is your doing?"

"First things first, get dressed. We have something important to do right now. I'll tell you everything on the way."

Although it was quite sudden, Kizuna knew just staying around and trying to question Nayuta wouldn't result in anything, so he just went to get dressed as he was told.

When he came back, Nayuta had apparently covered Reiri with Kizuna's bed sheets. Reiri was still unconscious, but Nayuta said it was fine and that they should get going.

"Well, I guess I should start explaining what happened. Basically, I was doing some tests to see how much of my power was left after Hypnos took it. There was a little bit of a miscalculation and I ended up using some of my powers on Reiri."

Thanks to this, Kizuna was finally able to make sense of what happened. Meanwhile, Nayuta was muttering to herself "this is the second time I got in her way like that, she's sure to be mad about it" or something like that.

"So that's why nee-chan was acting strange. F-for a second, I thought it was real or something."

"Oh, you seem to have mistaken something. I didn't put anything there, I just made Reiri show her raw feelings. I didn't do it intentionally, but what you saw there was how she really felt, even if she herself doesn't know about it."

"Eh?"

Just when Kizuna thought everything had been explained, Nayuta told him that. Nayuta even kept insisting "I'm serious" so Kizuna knew she wasn't joking.

For the sake of his own sanity, he decided to think about it later.

"Ah, I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but with everything that happened I forgot. Isn't it dangerous for us to stay here? Hypnos already knows about this place."

"About that, he knows about this place, but it won't be easy for him to find us again. How can I say it? It's like this miniature world is moving around between other worlds. Since she's the only one with her full power still, Osiris is the one taking care of that. Although, she seemed quite happy with that, like she could take this chance to look for something. It's like we're not in the same place anymore, so Hypnos will have to look for us again."

Nayuta also added that, now that this place was moving between worlds, they wouldn't need to take a ship to travel to another world. Now they could just "get close" to where they want to go and open an Entrance.

Since his mind was busy, Kizuna only got that things were fine. He was worried about the girls' fight with Thor and wanted to talk with them. But what Nayuta said about Osiris also sparked Kizuna's curiosity.

Could this have something to do with the time Kizuna was dead and Osiris revived him? Although he didn't know why, that's the first place Kizuna's mind went to.

"Ah, also, what about Hokuto?"

"She's doing fine. She's still conscious, but we're still having her rest in the infirmary building until she's back to 100%."

So Hokuto was fine, that was good to hear. Since she only needed time to recover now, Kizuna thought he should pay her a visit once he got the time.

"Anyway, what are we going to do? I want to meet with Aine and the others, so I want to finish quickly."

"Don't be surprised if we take a long time, so I'd recommend leaving that for some other day. Ask them out on date some other day, it'll be easier for you and them. That being said, today isn't the only day we're going to do this."

Although Kizuna wanted to talk as soon as possible, he knew that whatever it was Nayuta wanted to do must have been important. So he decided he'd leave the matter with the Amaterasu girls for some other day.

They walked until they reached a certain building a bit far from the houses. Kizuna didn't recall ever going over there, so he was a little curious of what was inside the building.

Kei came from inside the building, as soon as she saw them, she waited and entered the building again with them.

Inside, Kizuna could see a bunch of mechanical pieces. Judging from what he saw, he guessed this place was using technology from both Lemuria and Vatlantis. Once he saw a few familiar faces, he got what this place was, and Kei's text confirmed it.

[This place is functioning as a research and engineering department, or something like that. Well, this place was being mostly used to maintain the ship, but now it has a new purpose.]

"New purpose?"

"I'll show you."

Nayuta took Kizuna to a certain place, Kei also followed them.

It wasn't long before Kizuna saw it. Thanatos was there, and connected to her were two giant mechanical arms. They were different from the previous ones and Thanatos took her arms from inside them a few seconds after Kizuna saw her. Although he got they were detachable, Kizuna still didn't understand what the purpose of those arms were.

Then, a voice called out to Kei. Kizuna thought he remembered that voice from somewhere, and he really did. It was Momo from Ataraxia's research department.

"Oh, professor Nayuta is here, Kizuna as well. How's it going?"

"Hey Momo."

"Oh, I see you already know each other."

Kizuna then explained that, during the time he and Gertude were the only ones with Heart Hybrid Gears in Ataraxia, he ended up visiting the research department a lot and using their equipment in battle. That's why he knew Momo and some other people from the research department.

Momo was still wearing Ataraxia's research department uniform, except the zipper was lowered and the only thing covering her breasts was a black bikini top. Her skin was still partially tanned with some parts retaining their natural color.

Now that Kizuna thought about it, he never saw Momo dressed in any other way. And, taking a quick glance to the sides, she wasn't the only one to be wearing little on the upper part, so he guessed it was just because this place was hot.

While Momo gave her report to Kei, Thanatos approached Kizuna.

"H-hey."

"Thanatos, about that time…"

"N-no, it's fine. I get that you needed to do that, so there's no reason to apologize."

Kizuna wanted to say that wasn't it. He wanted to apologize because he kissed her like that, but he didn't want to leave the wrong impression. But Kizuna was interrupted by Nayuta explaining what those giant arms were.

"Thanatos told me you two did a Kisscharge Hybrid during that fight. She also told me that she felt something, so I did some tests on her. Turns out her power isn't 100% gone, it's just 99.9% gone. It's only a fragment of power, but if you power her up enough, she could go back to being strong, even if for just a little bit of time. To get ready for a possible future battle with Hypnos, we're making her a weapon to use."

So that's what those arms were for. Better safe than sorry, Kizuna thought, he wasn't about to turn down any help.

"Then, what did we came here for?"

"I just said it, didn't I? No matter what, you're gonna have to power up that last bit of power Thanatos has. We came here today to find out every possible method of doing that."

Obviously, Kizuna only thought of one method of testing that. He looked at Thanatos, whose face was beet red.

"I-it's not like that!"

"Unfortunately, my son, today isn't the day. While I guess it would be quicker that way, there seems to be some small change of effects from doing a hybrid with someone who has a core, a god, and Thanatos. Since we don't want to risk anything, we'll just be doing some tests and try to estimate their effects."

"So then…"

"Yup. Heart Hybrid, Climax Hybrid, Connective Hybrid, Kisscharge Hybrid, and so on for whatever we discover. Although you won't actually do any of them, for now at least, we'll test all of them out and try to estimate what effects they'll have when done with Thanatos. I also plan to find out any other kind of hybrid that scientist might have hidden inside Eros, though, considering its nature, I have at least one guess. We'll be here a while."

Since they couldn't actually do any of them, they could only estimate what effects they would get. And they couldn't do any actual hybrids because of the unknown effects, which would be too high of a risk for them to take not long after an attack.

There was nothing more to be said or done, so Kizuna showed his agreement by nodding. Thanatos also nodded. And so they began their tests.

"Boss, you look really tired."

"Well, a lot of things happened."

Later that day, Thanatos was so tired she was already asleep on her bed. Kizuna was also tired, but didn't felt like sleeping just yet, so he walked to the window and looked out. That's when Gertude arrived, so they started talking.

"So, what was Ger-san doing all this time?"

"You really going to use that damn nickname? Tsk, fine."

Although she seemed a bit annoyed, Kizuna only still used that nickname because he knew Gertude didn't mind it.

"I-I had something to do, something important, yeah."

"Hehh, what was that important thing?"

"W-what does it matter?"

Kizuna didn't really need or wanted to know, but he figured he should tease Gertude a bit more.

"Now that I think about it, the first time you met Thor, your eyes were glued to him. Don't tell me you like him?"

"W-what?!"

Gertude's face got so red Kizuna figured he unexpectedly hit the bullseye.

"E-eh? I was just kidding."

"You what? D-damn it."

Gertude let out a sigh. Since Kizuna had already said so much, Gertude felt more like she might as well come out with it.

"I dunno what I'm feeling. Thor's really handsome, that's for sure, but I can't say if it's love just yet. It might just be some admiration, gratitude, it might even be nothing. But even if it is, thanks to a certain Eros, I'm not exactly the purest of maidens out there."

Kizuna felt a bit awkward after hearing Gertude.

"S-sorry?" he tried to apologize, but then Gertude said "don't apologize! At least say that you enjoyed it!" to show she didn't really mind it, or at least that's how Kizuna took it.

"Anyway, when you do figure out your feelings, and if they really are love, then I'll support you. If you think you'll be happy, I'll give you my full support. It's what friends are for, right?"

"H-heh, I guess I should be thankful. … Thanks, boss. But like I said, I'm not sure about anything yet, so don't start thinking you're going to get rid of me."

Kizuna and Gertude laughed it out. Then, Kizuna felt like it was time to get to sleep.

"I'm tired, so I'll go to sleep now. Goodnight, Ger-san."

"Again?! Aahh, goodnight anyway."

Kizuna called it a day after that.


	23. Support (Part 1)

After doing tests with Nayuta for a few days straight, Kizuna finally got the time to talk with the girls from Amaterasu.

Kizuna had learned about how Osiris was training Aine and the others, so he asked her to talk with them. Saying that they needed a little break before the fight with Thor, which would happen in about two days, Osiris made an offer to Kizuna.

"Wow, it's good to be back here."

"Yeah, it's like we're finally coming back home."

"Well, while everyone was trying to get the gods' help, Sylvia was still here desu."

"In any case, we shouldn't get so relaxed we lose the fruits of our training."

Then, the other three girls said "Hayuru's so stiff" at the same time.

Osiris' offer was simple. Even if they were relieved of all their activities for a day, the girls wouldn't be able to properly relax in that settlement-world. Taking advantage that they had to keep moving between worlds now, Osiris said "I'll drop you and the girls off in your world, I think you called it Lemuria? In any case, I'll put you all there and pick you up later, so do whatever you want to then. Also, help them relax before the fight."

And that's where they were right now. This wasn't actually Kizuna and the others' world, but a copy Odin and Osiris made after Hypnos attacked and took Thanatos's power and killed Kizuna. But even so, it was as fateful to the original as possible and it was just a place to keep the civilians in until their real world recovered enough for them to go back.

"Where do you girls want to go? We have some time, and I was told to help everyone relax."

Right now, they were in Ataraxia, the place where basically everything started.

The Ataraxia float had been heavily damaged at the end of the AU war, but it had been rebuild and upgraded during the short time Thanatos took control of both worlds and that had been reflected in this temporary world.

"Hum, I'm kinda curious about what changed since we were last here."

"If it's that, then Sylvia can guide everyone desu."

Having stayed here during the time Thanatos ruled, Sylvia was the one who knew this place the best. Even though Kizuna was supposed to help them relax, he decided that it was best if he let her lead the way.

"So it's the tiebreaker now huh. Me, America's, no, the World's Ace, against Hayuru, Japan's Ace. Well, it's not like we can just ignore Sylvia and Aine."

"Just as you said, they aren't going to fall easily."

Aine looked ready to fight, so did Sylvia. All four girls had their Heart Hybrid Gear equipped.

"It's good that you two took notice of that. I thought I'd have to beat some sense into your skulls."

"Sylvia won't go easy desu."

Normally, this would be an abnormal situation, to say the least, but it made sense right now. Even Kizuna had a Heart Hybrid Gear equipped, though it wasn't Eros.

"E-everyone, can't we get along?"

"No, we have to settle this! So get ready already!" Four voices said.

To better explain the current situation, they were all currently playing a VR game that had been recently developed in Ataraxia. It's a simple battle game that allows the player to choose a Heart Hybrid Gear and fight others.

Needless to say, the four girls opted to use their own Heart Hybrid Gears. Kizuna's case was the same, but, after a few rounds not being able to do much, he decided to choose some other core. The game was irritatingly fateful to reality.

After the first round, the girls decided to settle an old score between them. The first to win 3 rounds would be considered the strongest between them, and currently each one had won 2 rounds. Kizuna not only had yet to win, he had yet to do any real damage to anyone. The girls and the spectators even told him it was fine to give up but he felt it would be too embarrassing to leave like this.

"… Say, do you three want to let Kizuna win one and settle this next round?"

Hayuru suggested and the other girls could only show awkward smiles.

"I was also thinking about that."

"So everyone was thinking the same desu?"

"Actually… I don't think we should. He wouldn't want us to do that, and… well, I want to think he can win by his own strength. Besides, right now, isn't he…"

Aine didn't even need to finish, they all knew what she was going to say. Kizuna wanted to win not because he was a sore loser, but because he wanted to show he also had strength. It was much similar to their own current situation, so they of all people shouldn't go easy on him.

After deciding they wouldn't throw the game, they waited for a few seconds more for Kizuna to get ready.

"Sorry for the wait, I'm ready now."

Kizuna was equipped with Scarlet's core, Ares. Maybe he planned to win with heavy firepower.

After everyone readied up, the countdown started. Would this be the last game, or the start of Kizuna's comeback?

"*sigh*"

As one could tell from the atmosphere around Kizuna, that was the last game. Just as before, Kizuna wasn't able to do any real damage. It didn't even matter who won, no one was feeling good.

The girls were all wondering if they should say something to try and cheer Kizuna up, but then he himself said.

"No, I can't be feeling down like this. It was just a game, and I'm here to help everyone relax. I'll use this as a learning experience. I'll do Heart Hybrid with a lot more conviction from now on to make sure something like that never actually happens."

While everyone felt happy that Kizuna had gotten over it, Hayuru muttered "am I the only one kinda worried about what he just said?" to which Yurishia responded "I personally feel exited for it."

Meanwhile, Aine and Sylvia got ahead of Yurishia and Hayuru and hugged Kizuna's arms. Although they wanted to say it was unfair, they knew they'd only get a "it's your fault for missing the opportunity" as a response.

"Hey, Kizuna, let's just walk around like this."

"Captain, I also want to desu."

Kizuna didn't really have any problems with this, but he asked just to be sure.

"Alright, but are you sure? We spend more time than expected in the game, so we have a little over an hour to go back."

"It's fine. Don't we have to go to our rooms anyway? Let's walk like this until we reach them."

Just as Aine said, Osiris told them that they should go to their rooms and pick up anything they thought they should bring to the settlement-world. It could be some spare clothes or something to pass time, so they decided that would be their date's last stop.

"Not fair! I also want to hug Kizuna."

"M-me too."

Yurishia and Hayuru walked behind them. Thanks to that, they ended up taking the longest route to their rooms, with the girls fighting to hug Kizuna's arm as they walked, which most likely contributed to how long it took for them to reach their rooms.

Not only did they take the longest route, they also stopped multiple times to eat some sweets like ice cream or look at something at the girl's requests. But then, they finally arrived.

They each went to their own room. Kizuna finished packing a small backpack in a short time, since most of what he was taking were just spare clothes. He thought he should also take a game or something to pass time.

Then, he waited for the girls. He had told them that there was something he wanted to talk about, so he asked them to come to his room once they were done on their end.

Once the girls arrived, Kizuna wasted no time.

"I'll go right to the point. I don't know why you girls don't want me joining against Thor, but I want to help as well. That's why, if you're not going to let me fight directly, let's at least do Heart Hybrid or something before the fight so everyone will be on top condition."

Somehow, everyone knew this is what Kizuna wanted to talk about. Aine gave her answer to Kizuna by shaking her head to the side.

"I'm sure everyone appreciates that you want to help, but there would be no point in it if you were to fight alongside us or do Heart Hybrid beforehand."

"…Why?"

"Well… when Hypnos attacked with the shadow gods, only Osiris and Odin were properly able to fight them. You, Kizuna, had some difficulties but ended up being helpful enough that they counted on your help, while us and everyone else would just get in the way."

"If it's about that then…"

"It's not just that" Yurishia continued from where Aine left. "Ever since this started we haven't been much help. When part of Odin's power was taken, me and Hayuru couldn't really do much. When Hypnos attacked you and Thanatos, even if we went there, we would have only gotten ourselves killed. That's why we're training with Osiris right now and why we'll fight Thor with just our own strength. To proof to ourselves we can also help."

It's not like they thought Kizuna and the gods thought of them as deadweight because they weren't strong enough, they knew it wasn't the case. It was because they needed to proof to themselves that they could also help. Kizuna was able to understand that much.

"I think everyone feels like this one way or another desu. During the war, even when fighting strong opponents, things didn't feel this hopeless. By doing this, I think we'll be able to show everyone else that the gods aren't unbeatable even for us desu."

"… Not just for you four, but for everyone else as well, huh. … I guess I should have noticed that sooner, sorry. If that's how you really feel, then I won't say anything anymore. When you girls go fight Thor, I'll be cheering for you, so make sure to land a good punch on his face."

Once Kizuna said that, the girls showed him a happy smile. He finally understood that, what they wanted from him wasn't something to make them stronger, but that he recognized their efforts and made it seem worth it, even if it didn't amount to much in the end. What they wanted wasn't the power to defeat a god. What they wanted was to feel like they could help, even if they needed to defeat a god.

Kizuna felt like an idiot for taking so long to notice that, he felt like he failed as someone in a relationship, that's why he decided he'd get things right from now on.

"Well, with all that said, I still want to help, so if there's anything I can do…"

"T-then… a reward."

Everyone's attention focused on Hayuru. Her voice almost didn't come out.

"I-I was just thinking that it would be a lot easier for us to give our best effort if we had something to look forward to, s-so, something like a reward."

"Heh, Hayuru's so lewd. But I like that idea."

"Me too."

"I want captain to reward me desu."

Then, it's settled.

"Alright, we'll do it like this. If you girls manage to win against Thor, I'll let each one of you choose a reward. I'll only do it if you win, so make sure to do your best."

The girls all nodded. Now, more than just getting Thor's help, they had something more personal to motivate them towards victory.

After that, they had to go back to the settlement-world. When Osiris asked if Kizuna was able to talk with them on their trip, his answer was simple.

"Yeah. Ever since I learned that they would fight with Thor, I was worried, worried that something would happen to them. But now… I want to believe that they can defeat any opponent. Actually, no, I want to believe in them in general, not just for fighting or doing Heart Hybrid, but for everything."

Osiris already knew about why the girls wanted to fight Thor, so she felt happy when Kizuna said that.

"Then, on the day of the battle, how about we cheer for them together?"

Kizuna nodded. His feelings weren't just spoken words, they really came from his heart.

And so ended their date.


	24. Support (Part 2)

"They'll be here soon."

Grace said as she finished taking a quick peek outside. Then, she and the others hid themselves, as if this was a surprise birthday party for someone.

Then, a few seconds after, the people everyone was waiting for entered the room. They were Aine, Yurishia, Hayuru and Sylvia, in other words, the members of Amaterasu that would be fighting Thor the following day.

As soon as they entered, everyone came out of hiding and said "surprise!" however, the four people that just entered didn't really seem all that surprised.

"Why isn't nee-sama and everyone else surprised?"

"I mean, we just saw your head peek out the door, and the four of us were called by different people to the same place at the same time, so it wasn't really hard to guess."

After hearing that, the mood lowered quite a bit. Since it wasn't their intention, the girls from Amaterasu could only show troubled smiles.

"I-in any case, what's this about anyway?"

"Oh, I thought you four would have already guessed it. This is a little party to help you all relax before the fight tomorrow and also to show our support."

It was Nayuta, who had just entered along with Reiri and Kei, who said that. Nayuta was caring some kind of cake, which she put down on the table in the middle of the room.

"You lot went on a date with Kizuna just yesterday, but we figured we should also show our support even if it's just something like this."

Reiri explained the reason behind this party. They were using the command room right now, but it should be fine as long as they clean everything afterwards.

Almost everyone was there. Grace. Zelcyone and Quartum, along with Hyakurath and Mercuria and Ralgrus. All the Masters. Gravel and Aldea. Nayuta, Reiri and Kei. Even Landred and the shy Valdy had shown up. It wasn't really a big party, but it did transmit everyone's support to them.

Odin didn't come since she wanted to remain as neutral as possible, but she did said she supported them a few hours earlier. Osiris said she had something to do so she couldn't go to the party. Hokuto was still resting, so she couldn't come.

Although she was trying to act normally, everyone noticed that Osiris seemed a bit more vigilant than normal. They thought she was just worried about another attack, but she was actually taking this chance to move this world around to look for something, but she made sure no one could tell her objective.

"Still, I wonder why Kizuna didn't come."

Yurishia was the one to say that. Since she was talking with the girls from Masters, Gertude was the one to answer. Since she lived with Kizuna and Thanatos, she should know why he wasn't there.

"Oh, boss wanted to come, but he was so tired he and Thanatos fell asleep immediately. I didn't want to disturb them, so I let them sleep."

"Why were captain and Thanatos so tired?"

"Ah, that might be my fault. I kinda went overboard with today's tests."

Nayuta was the one to answer to Sylvia. Everyone had heard Kizuna had been doing some tests to see what they could find out about Eros' powers, at least concerning when used with Thanatos, but no one knew what exactly those tests were.

"By the way, are you sure you know what you're doing with those tests? Just the other day, when I went to take a look, I saw you had Kizuna running on a treadmill."

"I admit that some of those I do for fun, but some tests are really important. I won't say how much though" Nayuta half evaded Reiri's question.

"Oi, don't try to evade my question."

"Oh, ever since that day you haven't been talking with Kizuna all that much, so I wonder who's running away."

Nayuta said in a voice only Reiri could hear. Ever since Nayuta (unintentionally) made Reiri confess to Kizuna, Reiri had been avoiding talking with him as much as possible. Nayuta was starting to think she'd have to mediate the situation (even though it's her fault to begin with).

Meanwhile, Aine and Hayuru were talking with Grace and the girls from Quartum.

"So, at the end of the date, Hayuru just straight asked Kizuna for a reward if we won."

"Eeh, I didn't think Hayuru would be this lewd."

"As expected, everyone thinks the same."

"I mean, is there really anything else?"

"In that kind of situation, to ask for a reward from someone like Kizuna…"

"It can only be something lewd!"

Quartum commented after Grace. No matter how much Hayuru kept saying "it's not like that!" the way Aine told the story made everyone think the same thing, and to make matters worst Yurishia and Sylvia didn't help Hayuru with anything.

"Mou! Aine, please stop teasing me like that. Or maybe you'd like me to talk about that Connective Hybrid before Thanatos' power was stolen?"

"N-no! I'll stop, for real, so don't say anymore."

Even with that, it still sparked everyone's curiosity, so they kept asking Hayuru "please, continue" so Hayuru decided to get back at Aine a little.

"Nooo! Please don't!"

Even though Aine tried pleading to Hayuru, no mercy was shown. Hayuru was surprisingly vengeful.

The party lasted for little more than an hour. It was short, but it did show everyone's support to the girls. They said they'd have a bigger party after the fight.

Now, it was time for the final speeches. First was Aine's.

"Everyone, thanks for the support. Tomorrow, we'll show everyone that even someone like us can defeat a god if we try."

Next was Yurishia's turn.

"Back during the AU war, I was considered the World's Ace, wasn't I? I'll show everyone that even a god is no problem to the world's strongest."

After that was Hayuru.

"Thanks for everything. We'll show the results of our training tomorrow."

And Sylvia finished.

"I'll smash Thor tomorrow desu!"

Somehow, considering just the size of Sylvia's Taros, it wasn't a hard scene to imagine.

From there, there was only cleaning up left. The Amaterasu girls were told to go to sleep and leave the cleaning to everyone else.

The following day, a battle no one expected to see would unfold.


	25. VS God of Thunder

Today was the day with the battle against Thor.

Even though this was far from the girls' first battle, they still felt butterflies in their stomachs.

The battle between the Amaterasu girls and Thor is taking place at an arena in Odin's world. For today, everyone went to Odin's world to see this fight. There were even some residents of Odin's world watching.

Kizuna, the goddesses, Reiri and Kei, Masters, Grace and everyone else were there to show their support to Aine and the others. With so many people that believed in them, there's no way for them to lose.

"… Alright, I guess it's time we head out."

After that, the girls headed out towards the arena Odin had prepared for this battle. It was a circular arena that had the audience stands high so that they wouldn't be easily hit. On the other side was the silver haired god, Thor.

His eyes seemed to say that he respected that the girls didn't run away, but also said that there was no chance of him losing.

"If you four give up now I won't have to hurt you."

"Who's going to give up at this point?"

"Heh, I guess that's true. Since you're all girls, I'll try not to damage your bodies too much, but don't mistake that for going easy."

After a few seconds, Odin showed up between Thor and the girls. She was going to be the referee for this battle.

"If Thor admits defeat or is knocked unconscious, then it's the girls' victory. Of course, it's Thor's win if the same happen to the four girls. If no one has any objections, then get ready… start!"

The girls quickly equipped their Heart Hybrid Gear. As soon as Zeros was equipped on her body, Aine advanced forward in order to engage in close quarters combat with Thor, who still seemed quite relaxed.

"Wa!"

To Aine's surprise, Thor also advanced forward, so they met in the middle of the arena. They both stopped on their tracks and faced each other for a fraction of a second. Thor pushed his finger against Aine's forehead, she reflexively tried to step back, but ended up miss-stepping and fell on her butt.

"Don't come at me if you don't have the resolve to trade blows."

Thor said as he ignored Aine and headed for the other three.

Hayuru was the one to face Thor next. She tried to slash with her sword, but Thor dodged by jumping back. Hayuru then used Neros' Blades to keep the fight at long distance.

What Thor didn't imagine was that he was being directed by Hayuru. As he kept dodging the Blades, Thor approached Sylvia.

"What?"

"Heeei!"

Taros' big hand grabbed Thor by the head and threw him to the arena's wall, making a loud crashing noise. Yurishia then took aim and fired a full powered shot at Thor.

"That was easy."

"As if that would be enough for us to win."

Not long after Hayuru's retort to Yurishia, Thor shot lightning towards them. Luckily, they had already foreseen that and were able to dodge.

Thor made a dash towards Yurishia. Since she was mainly focused on long-range attacks, Thor figured she'd be weak in close-quarters combat.

However, right as he got halfway to Yurishia, Thor took a punch to the face. The one who landed that punch was none other than Aine.

"Haaaa!"

Even though Aine focused all the strength on that punch, all it did was make Thor take a step back. So Aine knew she had to retreat before he countered.

"Damn, I think that hurt me more than him."

Aine said as she held her own hand. She was feeling a lot of pain on her hand, but the adrenaline from the fight was suppressing it. Meanwhile, the other three girls gathered near Aine.

Thor touched his own face, as if evaluating not only Aine's punch, but all the attacks until now.

"I guess you all weren't just sitting around thinking you could be me with willpower alone, so I'll give you props for that at least. But if this is all, I recommend you four give up right now."

However, this didn't intimidate the girls. Even though it was just for one week, they did train with Osiris to win this battle, so now was the time to show the results of that training.

The Amaterasu girls looked at each other, they were all thinking the same, so there was no need to say it out loud.

Hayuru quickly send her Blades to attack Thor. They didn't have nearly enough power to defeat a god, but they were still irritating.

While Thor was a little distracted by the Blades, Aine dashed forward. Thor had actually noticed it and could have stopped her if he so chose, but figured it wasn't worth the effort.

Once Aine was close, it looked like she was going to try punching his face once again. Since he wanted to end this, Thor figured he'd head-butt her punch, as it would surely hurt her the most. Still, he figured he should hold back enough so that the worst that could happen to Aine was a broken hand.

"Eh?"

But what he didn't expect was that Aine would back down last second, so he head-butted nothing. Still, that didn't help the girls in anything.

That's why, with a single second of delay, Hayuru came slashing her sword towards Thor. His body sensed the danger before his mind did, so his body moved on its own. But, due to his bad posture by head-butting the air, all he could do was extend his hand and grab the sword by the blade.

That should have been fine, but, for some reason, blood was flowing from his palm where he was grabbing the sword, even dripping on the ground.

Taking advantage of Thor's confusion, Aine punched him in the stomach. Once again, it should have been fine, but Thor did feel a strong impact this time.

Before Thor could do anything, both Aine and Hayuru jumped back. It was as if… they were gaining distance from Thor. The god then remembered that he hadn't seen the other two in a while.

"Now!"

"Fire!"

Yurishia and Sylvia were behind Thor, one was at his diagonal from the left while the other was to the right, making so that he couldn't completely avoid both shots.

They both took aim and fired at Thor. He might have been able to dodge if he flew or jumped high enough, but his pride made him try to defend.

However, he soon noticed that it wasn't a good idea and tried to dodge, but, due to his waste of time earlier, he was still hit and took some damage.

"… What? What's happening?"

Meanwhile, Kizuna in the spectator stand seemed to notice what was different.

"They are…"

"Oh, so you noticed, Kizuna?"

Osiris was the one who came from behind Kizuna and said that. Being the one who trained them for this fight, Osiris should know what's happening the best.

To avoid the risk of Thor hearing something, Osiris pressed her body on Kizuna's back and whispered in his ear.

"Remember that technique of using your energy that I taught you? I also taught it to them. Since they didn't have a lot of time to practice, they tried to specialize in one area for this battle. Aine strengthened her physical attacks, Hayuru covers her sword and Blades with energy, and Yurishia and Sylvia can shoot out an incredible amount of energy at once."

"I see. But is that really enough for them to match Thor?"

"Normally not, but it's not hard to see that Thor was underestimating them, and that gives them a chance. But still, Thor dodged that last attack, meaning he won't underestimate them as much anymore. There's also the matter of, unlike you who has a low energy consumption, they can't keep using it as much since they also have to power their Heart Hybrid Gear. In short, if they're going to win, they have to do it quickly."

Back down in the arena, just as Osiris said, Thor was getting more serious. He send four lightning strikes, one to each girl, which made them dodge out of the way.

"I'm still in the process of figuring out what you all did, but I'll admit you all aren't as useless in combat as I thought. If I had taken that last hit, maybe I'd be done for, so I won't give you all another chance."

Having said that, Thor focused his lightning not to attack, but to defend. His body was covered in blue lightning, one didn't even need to test to know how strong that defense must be.

Even the girls knew they couldn't break this defense, but they also knew they'd inevitably lose if they didn't do something about it. That's why Yurishia spoke up.

"Sylvia and I will do something about that protection. So you two watch for an opening."

Sylvia nodded, showing her agreement. Yurishia and Sylvia dashed towards Thor while Aine and Hayuru stayed behind.

Thor shot lightning towards them, but they dodged. Sylvia's giant Taros tried to attack Thor while Yurishia distracted him with some shots. However, Thor didn't pay any mind to Yurishia and focused on battling Taros.

Of course, Taros' strength couldn't compete with Thor's. The god grabbed Taros' arm and started twisting it as if he intended to rip it off.

But even that wasn't exactly out of the plans.

"Now desu!"

Yurishia combined her Differential Frames into one and shot at Thor, who was forced to release Taros to defend. Even so, the blast still send him flying towards the arena's walls.

But Thor got up not a second later. This marked Yurishia and Sylvia's best chance.

"Sylvia, let's go all out now."

Yurishia aimed her Differential Frames while Sylvia aimed her canon. They couldn't give him time to dodge, so they fired immediately.

Both their beams of light combined into one and hit Thor's defense. They were being able to push back his defense.

"Gah! Damn!"

At this rate, Thor really would get cornered. Because he acknowledged that, he felt like it was only fair to use it now. If anything, he could say they were deserving of seeing it.

"Sylvia, let's give it our all."

"Right desu!"

They promised they would create an opening for Aine and Hayuru, and so they would do.

They poured everything they had in this shot. They would become unable to continue fighting, but that's alright.

A loud explosion sound was heard. Dust covered Thor as Yurishia and Sylvia fell to the ground. They were both unconscious because they used large amounts of energy, making their hybrid count well in the danger zone, but it wasn't at the point they would die yet.

Odin quickly moved and carried both Yurishia and Sylvia out. They couldn't fight anymore, so she let them rest.

Meanwhile, everyone was waiting for the dust to settle and reveal Thor's state. That only happened after five seconds.

What appeared was Thor, on his knees, but not defeated. His protections was gone, but something else appeared. It was a hammer.

"I guess I should have taken you four seriously from the beginning. You know that this isn't just any hammer, right?"

Even those who didn't know much about gods and mythology couldn't not know this hammer. It could be nothing than the legendary hammer, Mjolnir.

"That hammer… it's going to be trouble."

"You can say that again. Still, looks like this is the end. It's do or die."

Thor was playing around with Mjolnir, throwing it up and down. Even though he knew he had to take this seriously, it looks like he gained some confidence back now that he was using his hammer.

A second later, the three of them dashed forward. Hayuru's Blades met the strike from Mjolnir, but were easily deflected.

Aine dodged one of Thor's hammer swings and tried to get him in an arm lock for Hayuru to attack. But Thor shocked his own body, forcing Aine to release him.

Thor then hit the ground with Mjolnir, creating a literal shock wave. The lightning hit Aine and Hayuru, making them both fall to the ground.

"Well, now you should see that you never had any chance really. How about giving up now?"

"We're… not done… yet!"

Even though her legs were trembling due to the previous electric attack, Hayuru still stood up and faced Thor.

Since he held some respect for that action, Thor decided to fight her. That said, he wouldn't hold back, but that was also something Hayuru wanted.

Just as Thor was ready to attack Hayuru, she made the Blades come back and stab his back. One of them hit the elbow of the arm that was holding Mjolnir. With that slight opening this feeling of pain created, Hayuru slashed Thor's chest.

The wound she inflicted wasn't deep, but it still made Thor's chest feel like it was burning. Hayuru then circled around him and tried to attack again, but Thor was ready for it this time.

"Don't you think it'll be that easy!"

With sound of thunder, Thor used his free hand to punch Hayuru's stomach. The hit was loud and made Hayuru unconscious with sheer strength.

But Thor didn't even have the time to rejoice the fact that there was only one opponent left.

Behind him, Thor could feel something. He then realized that Hayuru had circled around him not to try and hit him, but because, when she was defeated, he'd be in a bad position to defend against the next attack.

"Haaaa!"

Thor could only see her from the corner of his eyes, but he noticed that Aine's hand was enveloped in some kind of energy. He finally realized what had made up for the difference in strength between them.

Thor tried to swing Mjolnir, but he was in a bad position and Hayuru's Blades were still piercing him, so he couldn't properly move his arm and didn't have time to switch to the other.

Even so, Thor is still a god. Aine's punch made contact with Thor's face at the same time his Mjolnir made contact with her chest.

A sound much louder than before echoed around. Next second, both Thor and Aine were fallen to the ground. Aine had coughed up some blood, but they would later discover that she was fine.

Odin went there to check out what had happened. She noticed some movement from Thor.

"I-I'm still-"

But then, she hit the back of her lance on Thor's face, knocking him unconscious.

"Unexpectedly, this ended in a draw. Wow, what a great battle. Now, let's let the participants take a rest shall we?"

Everyone in the spectator stands gave a round of applause for the great fight they had just seen. While they both also clapped their hands, Kizuna asked Osiris.

"Say, didn't Odin…?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she did. But let's not say anything, alright?"

Only Kizuna and Osiris seemed to have noticed Odin's little help at the end, but decided to keep it to themselves.

And so, the curtains were closed on this battle.


	26. Aine's Reward

It has been two days since the battle with Thor.

After talking it over with him, Odin was able to get Thor's cooperation. Once he recovered enough, he would help them with an eventual attack. Odin was also trying to see about training everyone like Aine and the others were, but that's another matter.

According to Odin, Thor accepted everything quite easily. At least, that's what Odin said, but judging from the screams right before, maybe Odin had to "persuade" Thor first.

Meanwhile, Kizuna was nursing the girls. Even though they didn't technically win, Kizuna decided they deserved a reward nonetheless. So it was agreed that, once they were good to leave the infirmary building, each one could make one request of Kizuna that he'd have to comply.

Somehow, Aine got better in an amazing speed once that was decided. So today, two days after the fight, she said she wanted her reward from Kizuna. The other girls were still recovering back in the infirmary building.

Aine talked with Osiris and she and Kizuna were left at Vatlantis. She said she would pick them up the following day, so, considering the time they arrived, they would have about half a day together.

"But why did you want to come here Aine?"

"W-well, you've been here twice already, haven't you? Once when we were all caught and at the end of the AU war when you, me and Grace… well, you know. I want to show you the good points of my homeland, since you might have missed them during the war."

"Ah, I see."

So Aine wanted to show Kizuna around. He really did appreciate that. Taking that into account, Kizuna decided it would be for the best for him to hide that he had already taken a good look around with Gertude during the AU war.

Aine was wearing shorts with a small sleeveless top jacket that didn't even cover her stomach, but she wasn't wearing a shirt underneath. The reason for that was not something perverted. Aine had bandages covering her chest, which had been hurt in the fight with Thor, since she said it hurt when she put on a shirt, she decided to not wear one under the top jacket. Aine also had one hand bandaged that was also hurt in that fight on the final punch.

Kizuna asked her multiple times if she was really fine, but Aine insisted she was already in perfect condition and wanted to go on this date.

"Come on, let's go."

At least as far as Kizuna could tell, there didn't seem the be any problems, so he figured he might as well enjoy this time with Aine.

At first, they were just walking down the streets. Kizuna had already seen these streets even when he had been caught, but Aine was now guiding him through them and showing the landmarks. She almost looked like a tour guide.

"Ah! Look who it is!"

All the sudden, a child came out of nowhere and threw her body onto Aine, who was able to catch her. Kizuna was startled for a bit, but eased up when he noticed it was just a kid.

Then, a bunch of other children came out of the same place the first one came from. They all hugged Aine.

Not long after, a young woman appeared. Looks like she's the one responsible for the children.

"O-oh, emperor. Please excuse them, they were just playing around."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind it. It's good to see they're all healthy."

Aine patted the kids' heads one by one. The kids seemed happy and, from what Kizuna could tell, this wasn't the first time they met Aine.

"Aine, who are them?"

"Oh, these are kids from an orphanage Grace build while she was the acting emperor. I came here once or twice after regaining my memories."

Kizuna then noticed that the place these kids came from had a board that said this was an orphanage. Moreover, it also said that this place was built to house the kids who lost their families during the AU war.

Because of this, Kizuna was reminded that both worlds suffered in that war. But even though they hurt each other in the past, it looks like both worlds are getting on good terms with each other.

"Hey hey, can't you come play?"

"E-eh? W-well…"

The little girl who threw herself at Aine earlier invited her to come in and play. Aine looked at bit troubled, probably because she didn't want to interrupt the date with Kizuna. That's why he was the one to accept the invitation.

"Isn't it fine? If you want, we can go in with them for a bit."

After hearing that, Aine flashed Kizuna a smile, then she said she'd go in and play with the kids, who voiced out their happiness.

"E-emperor, are you sure it's fine?"

"Yeah, it's alright. Of course, Kizuna is going to accompany me, won't you? After all, what are some kids to the hero of the AU war?"

"Wooah."

The kids looked amazed, probably because Aine had introduced Kizuna as a "hero", which probably sparkled their imagination.

"Alright. I'll show you that this hero fears nothing."

And so, with some help from the young woman from before, Kizuna and Aine took the kids back into the orphanage and played with them for a while.

After about an hour and a half, Kizuna and Aine finally exited the orphanage. The kids and the young woman responsible for taking care of them waved them goodbye as they saw them off.

"I never thought Aine would be good with kids."

"To be honest, the first time I came here, I wasn't. I even got really mad at them, but Grace taught me a few things, so the second time was better and I think I did really well this time… and, well, I've been thinking that kids aren't that bad recently."

Although Kizuna felt like there was some hidden meaning, Aine quickly switched the topic.

"By the way, want help to wash these off?"

"I'll have you know I think this style suits me well."

During their playing section with the kids, Kizuna ended up serving as their dress-up doll. His face had paint-makeup and his hair was filled with hairbands. He left the hairbands at the orphanage of course, but the paint wasn't coming off that easily.

Even as they walked around, people were looking at Kizuna as if they questioned his sanity. Well, it's not like Kizuna didn't understand the reason for it.

"Haha, sure. Anyway, sit down, I'll see what I can do about the paint."

Kizuna sat down on a bench and Aine grabbed some water from a font nearby. She wetted her own handkerchief and tried to wash Kizuna's face.

The paint wasn't completely gone, but it wasn't as visible anymore. Aine told him it would be easy to wash the rest once he took a bath.

"Well, at least now you can walk around without people looking at you. Come on, once we're done here, we're going to the palace."

And so, Aine continued touring Kizuna around.

It didn't take long for them to finish touring the capital. Compared to that, it felt like the palace was way too big, almost like it was a city in itself. The size wasn't much bigger than most palaces in his world, but Kizuna still felt like that due to the sheer amount of time it was taking to look at everything.

Once dinnertime came, instead of having s grandiose dinner like what Kizuna expected an emperor to have, Aine asked for food that they could eat like in a picnic. According to Aine, there was a dining room like what Kizuna imagined, but she just didn't feel like using it today.

After that, Aine told Kizuna to take a bath. She also said that, once he was done, the maids would guide him to the room he'd be sleeping in.

"Still, this bath is way too big. I kinda wish Aine would join in."

Kizuna said that to himself half-jokingly, but knew there was some chance of it actually happening. He had to admit, he wouldn't exactly dislike that.

It couldn't be helped. The bath really was so big Kizuna couldn't help but feel lonely. That's why, once he finished washing his body, paint and all, he was about to leave when…

"Excuse us. Ainess-sama asked us to take care of you."

A group of five maids entered the bath wearing what Kizuna guessed were some kind of swimsuits. Then again, Vatlantis' style of clothes tent to have a high exposure rate, so maybe these weren't swimsuits.

Before Kizuna could even do anything, the maids approached him, sat him down on a stool and started washing him. His hair, back, chest, they were washing his whole body.

"W-wait a second, what's going on?"

"Ainess-sama asked us to wash your body and make sure you're properly clean."

"N-no, I already finished washing myself, so there's no need for this."

"Even so, we have received direct orders. We won't be long, so please excuse us for a little bit."

Kizuna felt like he should get up and ask Aine what this was about. He really was about to do that when he heard Aine's voice.

"Kizuna, be a good boy and don't give them any trouble. I told them to use their bodies if you tried to resist."

What Aine meant was more like a tackle, but it wasn't what Kizuna imagined. Well, Aine worded it that way to make Kizuna imagine something else. In any case, Kizuna decided it was best to stay obedient.

"I myself am getting taken care of by other maids, so don't worry. I'll explain it to you later, so just let them take care of you."

From what Kizuna could tell by her voice, Aine should be in the neighboring room. Was there another bath there?

Although Kizuna didn't understand a single thing, he decided to trust Aine and let the maids do their jobs. Although, as expected, once they got to his more intimate places, an accident almost happened and he was almost the one to shower the maids. Luckily, he was able to resist.

Once the maids were done, they gave Kizuna some sleepwear and showed him to the room he'd be saying at.

It was an enormous room with a big bed right in the middle. There were also a lot of fancy decorations. This couldn't be just a guest room.

Kizuna decided to wait while he sat on the bed. Just as he expected, Aine showed up not much later. Just as he had guessed, this wasn't a guest room, but the emperor's, Aine's room.

Aine still had her hand and chest wrapped in bandages, but that was all she wore on the upper body. On her lower body, she only wore black laced panties that did little to cover her and mostly served to accentuate her sexuality.

She also got on top of the bed and approached Kizuna. She kissed him as she used her weight to press her body on top of Kizuna's and push him down on the bed.

After a few seconds, she broke the kiss and said.

"I-I guess it's about time I start explaining. First of all, remember that you didn't set any limits for the rewards you said you'd give us, so it can be anything. … What I want is, for you to be emperor with me. That's why I brought you here today and showed you around. This night, on this bed, I want us to have our first time."

Aine looked at Kizuna with pleading eyes. It wasn't hard for him to tell how serious she was about that. That's why…

Kizuna pushed Aine down this time. He was now on top of her. Aine was surprised at first, but then opened her legs, making it easy for Kizuna to do whatever he wanted.

Kizuna would be lying if he said he didn't want to do it, but he felt something was wrong. That's why, instead of doing anything else, he touched Aine's bandaged hand and put about as much strength as he would in a handshake.

"Nm,m!"

"… As I thought, you're still not really fine, are you?"

"W-what are you saying? It was just… pleasure, I was moaning in pleasure."

"That so? Then, how pleasant is this?"

Then, with a single finger, Kizuna poked Aine's chest between her breasts. Normally, this wouldn't do anything, but now Aine couldn't even hide the pain in her face.

Kizuna got off from Aine and helped her sit up along with him. Then, as he looked into her eyes, he said.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong. I just wanted us to have sex as my reward. I am the main wife after all."

Since it didn't look like Aine was going to open up, Kizuna tried to pry a bit more.

"You know, I know that you sometimes call yourself as my "main wife" because you're a bit insecure and want to assert yourself. What made you insecure this time?"

"… I… well, it's not really something recent. Ever since I noticed my love for you, I've been wondering "maybe next Heart Hybrid we'll do it" or something, but we never did. Then there was that whole thing with you dying, so, when you said you'd give a reward for us, this was the only thing that came to mind. Before anything happens and you go away, I wanted to be more intimate with Kizuna, to have Kizuna's kids, to be together."

"I see."

Kizuna then touched Aine's face. He made her look at him and then kissed her lips. After a second, he broke the kiss.

"Didn't I already tell you it won't happen again? I know I'm not strong, but I don't plan to just drop dead any second now. The way I see it, we still have our whole lives ahead. I'd be lying if I said I don't want to do it, but there's no need to be in a hurry. We're still students after all. How about we see that once this whole thing with Hypnos is done? Well, for the kids thing, maybe wait a bit more than that."

After hearing Kizuna, it looked like Aine was able to calm down. She hugged Kizuna for a few seconds and spoke after.

"Then I guess I'll change my reward. I'll take…"

"What do you mean? Didn't I say you had to be completely healed first? You broke that rule, so your right to a reward is gone."

"No way!"

Aine's face looked like she had heard some of the worst news possible. After letting out a laugh for a bit, Kizuna said.

"But, I can make a trade. You do me a favor and I'll do one for you."

"W-what do you want?"

"This bed is way too big, so I want Aine to sleep with me tonight. But I want to hug you and cuddle you and kiss you and everything else. If you can do that, I'll do you any favor once we finish dealing with Hypnos."

"H-heh, I guess it can't be helped. Since you want it so badly, I'll do it just for you."

After that, they both laid down. Since she had let him, Kizuna hugged and kissed Aine to his heart's content.

He wanted to give proof that his words weren't just something he was spewing out, but also, he wanted to show Aine that they didn't need anything like the Heart Hybrid or sex for them to be together.

Of course, that didn't mean Kizuna didn't want to do those things, in fact, he did. But he had just said they would have their whole lives for that, so there's no problem with waiting until they regained their peaceful school life back, right? Obviously, that went not just for Aine, but for the other girls as well.

They both fell asleep like that. When she woke up, Aine felt lighter then she had ever felt in a long time.

After that, it was time to go back and continue their fight.


	27. Note 3

**And so ends batch 3.**

 **I'll start by saying this, originally, I was going to have Kizuna fight Thor and all, but I was suggested to focus on the girls a bit, that's how they ended up being the ones fighting. For those who know me for a little longer, you might know that I kinda leave the girls out of the story if I don't pay attention, that's why I decided to focus on the girls this time around.**

 **I wanted to have the Amaterasu girls as the main character of this batch and leave Kizuna as a side character, but it ended up with him as another MC. Well, it could have been worst.**

 **Now, lemme talk about Thor.**

 **Until now, we've seen Thanatos, Hokuto and Nayuta, who had their power stolen because they weren't ready for Hypnos, didn't know about him, or had no choice but give their power. Odin fought with Hypnos and had part of her power stolen since he took advantage of her personality.**

 **Then there's the ones who haven't had any of their power taken. Osiris I feel like is the prudent type. Once she was informed about Hypnos, even if Kizuna and the others weren't there, I think she'd find a safe place that would make it hard for Hypnos to get to her, not to mention that she's strong, so she could hold herself in a fight and wouldn't be taken advantage of in a battle.**

 **But there's also the other side of the coin. Thor is the type that thinks that he wouldn't lose to someone weaker than him, making Hypnos retreat by just showing up might have made him think he can't normally lose to Hypnos. I think he would have the same fate as Odin, have his personality taken advantage of in a battle and have his power stolen. But now that I said that I won't do it.**

 **What else is there to talk about? … Oh yeah, this is an ecchi fanfic that went one batch without an ecchi chapter.**

 **Well, I hope everyone forgives me for that. I like to think that the batch was able to hold out even without ecchi. But I have to admit that, if I was forced to put it in this batch, I wouldn't know where to put it without it feeling out of place.**

 **In any case, I have stuff saved up for next batch. I still have to decide on something but, depending on what I decide, next batch might have quite an impactful ecchi chapter.**

 **I guess I could also talk about Thanatos' new mechanical arms.**

 **Since she doesn't have her powers anymore, I figured she'd need some kind of weapon, so I thought why not the arms? Well, we'll get to it when we get to it.**

 **As for Nayuta's tests on Kizuna… I think everyone has already figured it out. It to find out about other hybrids the story hadn't introduced yet, such as the Ecstasy Hybrid and whatnot. The LN followed the natural progression of "if foreplay can do so much, sex has got to be even stronger of a power-up, right?" but I personally like more the "while looking for new hybrids they found that sex also works". Well, the end result is the same anyway.**

 **And wow, next batch is the fourth and I've barely started developing Kizuna and Thanatos as partners. I need to get working on that, I want to be done with Hypnos soon.**

 **Oh but if only that was the end.**

 **In any case, I think I should go before I say more than I should. Hope you've enjoyed and see you again soon.**

 **(BTW, for those who didn't notice, there is a chapter without a title in this batch. My small pool of naming creativity ran dry. If you're a time traveler and come from the future where I decided what to title that chapter, please ignore this)**


	28. (Not So) Normal Day

Although Kizuna was sleeping, he felt as if a hand crept up on him. There was a hand touching his face.

No, not a hand. Never mind the softness of a female hand or the hardness of a male's, this hand didn't even have the heat of a living being. Yet, Kizuna knew it was someone's hand.

"I am patient, so I am not here to give you a time limit. I am here to remind you, you have a mission, which is the reason why you still live, why you came back to life. Do not forget that."

Kizuna couldn't mutter his voice, nor could he move. Maybe it was because he was sleeping, but… somehow, it felt like it was because of that "thing's" presence there.

Kizuna didn't know why, but he didn't want to stay near whatever this was. He tried shoving it away, but his body didn't move. There was nothing he could do, and fear just started building up inside Kizuna.

But, as it had said, it didn't come here to do anything to Kizuna, so Kizuna was able to wake up a few seconds after whatever it was disappeared.

"B-boss, are you finally awake?"

Kizuna woke up to find Gertude on top of him. Her hair was still wet, so she probably just finished taking a bath. That would also explain why her appearance was composed of only her panties and loose bra.

Kizuna could catch a glimpse of Gertude's breasts due to how loose her bra had been put on, and she was on top of him, so that only contributed to the misunderstanding. That made the scene look quite sexual, but it really was no one's intention there.

"W-what?"

"Boss seemed to be having some kind of nightmare. At first you were just mumbling some stuff, so I thought about waking you up. But then you started to move, like you were trying to hit something. I tried stopping you before you hit yourself, and I ended up in this damn position."

After Gertude explained, Kizuna understood what had happened. She got off of him and Kizuna also got up.

"Sorry about that. I didn't hit you, did I?"

"Just a little. It's not even enough to make a bruise, so don't worry about it. I'm more worried whether boss is fine or not."

"I'm fine. I don't understand it, but it was just a dream, nothing to worry about."

Kizuna looked at Gertude's arm, and there was indeed a red spot there. Kizuna's chest felt heavy, so he apologized again and Gertude once again told him it was fine.

After that, Kizuna left the room so that Gertude could finish getting dressed. He figured he might as well take this chance to take a bath.

Kizuna's mind was busy trying to figure out what was that dream, so he didn't even payed attention as he took off his clothes. Once naked, Kizuna entered the bath, not noticing the sound of water running.

"E-eh? W-what are you doing here?"

Kizuna didn't hear that voice and just continued walking. His mind was deep in thought. But he was soon forced to notice that person's existence once he bumped into her.

He soon felt the soft touch of a woman's skin, but the part his body touched first was soft in a different way and had a pointy tip. Kizuna took notice of her existence once their bodies were almost nearly hugging. He noticed Thanatos' presence.

"O-oh…"

In his battles until now, Kizuna had shown many feats of great speed, but this might have been his fastest. As soon as he noticed how his body was almost pressing on Thanatos', Kizuna turned around, said "sorry" and ran out of the bathroom. It was such a great speed Thanatos had a hard time catching that.

Not long after, Thanatos came out of the bath with a towel wrapped around her and found Kizuna just outside.

"S-sorry, I was distracted, so I didn't mean to…"

"J-just don't worry about it. But pay more attention from now on!"

Thanatos tried to voice out anger, but her voice only really showed that she wasn't really mad at Kizuna. Thanatos told him that he could use the bath now, so Kizuna once again entered.

He spend some time thinking in the bath, but realized he wasn't going anywhere, at least not alone. If only there was someone who could help him with this, but who would believe such a dream? After getting dressed, Kizuna decided it was best to start the day at once.

After all, this strange dream wasn't the only thing in Kizuna's mind. It had been a while since he had been thinking about what happened between him and Reiri. They hadn't been talking for some time now, and Kizuna wanted to solve this, but didn't know how.

That was the other thing in Kizuna's mind, but for now, he had to clear his mind for a little bit.

Surprisingly, once he left the house, Kizuna found Thanatos waiting at the front.

"Hey, are you waiting for something?"

"Y-yeah. I-I figured that it would be good for us to…"

"Nii-sama!"

Out of nowhere, Grace appeared. She jumped towards Kizuna, who was barely able to catch her. Grace took that opportunity to hug Kizuna.

"Grace, that was dangerous you know."

"S-sorry, I guess I got a bit worked up. But anyway, nii-sama, come with me."

Grace started tugging on Kizuna's arm, but he stood in place for a little bit.

"Wait just a little. Thanatos, what were you saying?"

"E-eh? Ah, n-no, it's nothing, just go with her."

Kizuna thought there was still something Thanatos wanted to say, but didn't for some reason. But, since she had told him to go, Kizuna decided to just go with Grace for now.

As for Thanatos, she decided she'd find something to spend some time.

"So, what do you want to do, Grace?"

"Well, after I thought about how much time nee-sama and everyone else spend with nii-sama recently, I also wanted to spend time with nii-sama. So I'm thinking about picking a fight with some god."

"A-ah, I see. T-there's not much to do around here, but how about we just talk as we walk around and forget about that fighting thing."

"If nii-sama insists, I guess I can let them off while nii-sama keeps me company."

Kizuna knew Grace had been joking when she said she planned to pick a fight with a god, or at least he hoped that was the case, so he understood that she just wanted to spend some time with him.

"Have you visited Aine today?"

"Not yet."

"Then how about we go together later? Then, after I check on everyone else, we can continue walking around like this."

Grace nodded excitedly.

Aine and the girls from Amaterasu fought with the god Thor a few days back. They were still resting in the infirmary building, but most of them would be back to normal in one or two more days. Aine would take a little longer since she had been a bit stubborn, but it should end with her only spending one more day resting.

As they walked Kizuna and Grace passed by a plain field where Thor was. From what they could see, it looked like he was in the middle of training. Looks like the Masters are doing a training against Thor.

After Odin "convinced" Thor to help them, he was put in charge of helping everyone train for the case of another attack. Well, that training mostly amounted to Thor doing mock battles with a group of people, but some growth was starting to become visible.

"Don't you want to train for a little bit? I might not be able to do much, but I'll even accompany you if you want."

"I-I'd rather not, nii-sama. I already tried a mock battle yesterday, and my body still hurts."

After a little bit, the mock battle ended. Thor saw Kizuna and Grace and decided to approach them.

"Are you two up next?"

At the same time, Grace and Kizuna shook their heads to the side. Both of them were thinking "please, nothing but that" as they refused Thor's offer.

"Heh, maybe some other time then. By the way, Kizuna, right? You're friends with that Gertude girl, aren't you? You should be proud to have such a hardworking friend. No matter how beat up she gets, she always comes back in order to get stronger, she's the only one to keep coming every day. That being said, the others aren't half bad either. Heh, maybe you all won't die next time you get attacked."

"Yeah, Ger-san isn't the type to give up easily. But don't be too harsh."

"That's going to depend only on her."

Thor then went back to training the Masters. Kizuna then noticed that Grace was pouting at his side, probably because he ignored her for a little bit.

"S-sorry. Anyway, let's go visit Aine and everyone else."

Then…

"Kizuna, are you finally here for your check-up?"

"M-maybe some other time."

"Nii-sama."

Although Grace had only said his name, her intonation was one that indicated she wasn't exactly happy.

Kizuna and Grace had already visited Aine and the other girls from Amaterasu, but Kizuna wanted to finish things off by visiting Hokuto. Landred happened to be on that same room.

"How have you been, Hokuto?"

"I've been doing fine these days. Apparently, I'll be able to go out soon. How about you? Did my sword help during that time?"

"Yes, it was really helpful. Thank you. Has anyone else come to visit you?"

"Your mother did just yesterday. She said something about working on a way to find Hypnos and asked if I could help once I got better, obviously I said I'd help."

Kizuna thought that was interesting. He hadn't heard about anything like that yet, but he was sure he was going to get filled in once he needed to, so he didn't ask for anything more.

"Well then, I only came here to see if you were dine, so I should let you rest now. Bye."

Hokuto waved Kizuna and Grace goodbye while Landred said "I'll be waiting to do that check-up" though Kizuna had to pretend he didn't hear a thing.

Then, Kizuna and Grace left the infirmary building. While they were deciding what to do next, they didn't even notice that Thanatos was observing them.

"A-ah."

She thought about calling out to Kizuna, but then gave up. Then, she could only watch as Kizuna and Grace walked off.

Once it was starting to get late, Kizuna left Grace at her house and went to his own. Once there, the first person he met was Gertude.

She was visibly tired from her training with the rest of the Masters today, so Kizuna decided to help her take care of her injuries.

"Thanks for the help, boss."

"No problem. Besides, isn't this one the one I gave you? It wasn't my intention, but it's only fair that I help take care of it."

As Kizuna said that, he was wrapping a bandage around Gertude's arm that he had injured while he slept today. It wasn't something that really needed treatment, but Kizuna insisted on doing it.

While he was at it, he also helped her with the few scratches she got at today's training. In the meantime, Kizuna talked about how she always tried so hard she always ended up injured, which made Gertude pout and mutter "it's because if I don't do that, I won't be able to help when the time comes" but Kizuna couldn't hear it.

While they were doing that, Thanatos entered the house.

"Oh, hey Thanatos."

"Hey."

Thanatos said only that and then went right to the bedroom. Gertude was the one to call Kizuna's attention.

"I don't believe boss is so dense."

"Eh? What?"

"Haven't you noticed she spent the whole day trying to talk with you, but kept getting interrupted? Go talk with her, right now!"

Gertude urged Kizuna to go talk with Thanatos. He didn't think it was anything too big, but if Gertude's tone was any indicator, he should see to this as soon as possible.

Kizuna went to the bedroom and tried to start a conversation with Thanatos.

"Hey, hum, is there something you want to talk about?"

"Not really."

Kizuna's shoulders dropped after being rejected so easily, but he didn't give up.

"Didn't you try to say something earlier today? What was it? You can tell me even if it's nothing important."

Thanatos seemed like she wasn't going to talk, but Kizuna insisted a bit more, so she gave in.

"W-well, I was just thinking that, since we're supposed to be partners, and we'll likely have to do that Heart Hybrid thing sooner or later, I thought we should try to get a bit closer to each other, or something like that."

Once Kizuna heard Thanatos say that, he felt really dumb for not having noticed this before.

Even with Aine, or Yurishia, or Hayuru, it was awkward to do Heart Hybrid while they didn't know each other too well, so it should be the same for Thanatos. For both of them, they should try to get a bit closer before they have to do it.

"Alright. I have something to do tomorrow, but, the day after that, what do you say we spend some time together? I'll try to find something for us to do."

"S-sure. Yeah, that's good."

Thanatos looked like she had gotten rid of a heavy weight. Kizuna hadn't noticed how much she was thinking about that. Well, it's only natural. It's not like they are complete strangers, but it couldn't hurt to at least get a little bit closer before they have to fight Hypnos.

Kizuna then went back to taking care of Gertude. After that was done, it was time to call it a day.


	29. Sylvia's Reward

During the fight with Thor, Yurishia and Sylvia used so much of their energy that they lost consciousness. Luckily, they didn't use too much of it, so their lives weren't in danger and they could just rest for a while.

Still, even resting for a few days straight, their energy didn't recover much. That was already expected, so it had already been decided that they were going to do a Connective Hybrid together.

They had finally recovered enough, so today would be the day they were going to do that Connective Hybrid. Hayuru kept saying that she also wanted to recover her energy, but Aine and the others kept saying she didn't use nearly as much energy, so she should be fine.

Hayuru could only answer with "I should have used more energy" and Kizuna didn't know how to react. But he couldn't say he wouldn't have liked that.

In any case, Kizuna was already waiting in the Love Room, Sylvia and Yurishia didn't take too long to show up.

"C-captain."

Sylvia looked a bit nervous. Now that Kizuna thought about it, this would be her first Heart Hybrid after she had her core installed, so it's not strange for her to be nervous.

Kizuna put his hand on top of Sylvia's head and started patting her.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"My~ I wonder what I have to do to get Kizuna to pamper me."

Yurishia said teasingly, so Kizuna decided to give a proper answer.

"I don't have a pat for your head, but I do have this though."

Kizuna then suddenly kissed Yurishia. His tongue entered and licked her whole mouth as she pressed her body on his.

Since the kiss was just an opening act, it didn't need to last too long. After breaking the kiss, Kizuna picked up the Love Room's control panel and started looking for a good place.

But then, Sylvia took the lead.

"Hum, actually, captain, can I choose the place?"

Kizuna was surprised, but saw no problems with it, so he let Sylvia take control. Sylvia fumbled around with the control panel and then selected a place.

It was a room, much like a love hotel's. The bed right in the center of the room was big enough to easily fit all three of them, and the rooms lighting was not the usual white, but a little red, the color of passion.

Of course, their clothes had also been changed. Or rather, they disappeared completely. All three of them were naked.

"Oh my~"

"S-Sylvia."

Kizuna was taken completely by surprise, and Yurishia's eyes showed some interest.

Sylvia then voiced out what she had been wanting to say for a while.

"C-captain, the reward from fighting against Thor… I want to use mine now desu."

Kizuna decided it would be best to let Sylvia talk, Yurishia didn't interrupt her either.

"Captain doesn't see me as a woman desu. Maybe it's because my body is small, but I still want captain to see me as a woman. That's why, right now, I want you to treat me as you would Aine, or Hayuru, or as you will treat Yurishia. That's… what I want as my reward."

Certainly, maybe due to her appearance and how little sexual contact they had, but Kizuna didn't see Sylvia the same way as he did everyone else from Amaterasu. He saw her as a reliable comrade just like anyone else, but he wasn't as conscious of her as a member of the opposite sex.

Kizuna had already decided he would try to respond to everyone's feelings as best as he could, so there was only one answer he could give Sylvia.

"I understand. From now on, I'll be conscious of Sylvia as a girl."

To show he really meant it, Kizuna kissed Sylvia in the lips. But not just that, he also hugged her. Due to their height difference, Kizuna brought Sylvia up. It surprised Sylvia at first, but then she hugged Kizuna back and trust her body to him.

After a few seconds, Kizuna sat on the bed, but was still kissing and hugging Sylvia. Their bodies were very close together, and they could feel the soft and hard parts of the other's body.

"Nnh!"

"Chuu,nn."

"I don't like how I was just thrown to the sidelines even though this is supposed to be a Connective Hybrid, but I guess I'll be the adult here and let Sylvia have her moment. But I'll be sure to charge for this."

Kizuna heard what Yurishia said, but he had his mouth busy, so he couldn't answer. But if he could, he would have said "I'll pay in full price" to her.

While Kizuna and Sylvia were busy with each other, Yurishia grabbed Kizuna's part and started licking it as if it was a lollipop. She then asked him teasingly.

"How is it, Kizuna?"

"Good, actually, very good. I have no idea how you got so good at this, but keep going."

Yurishia seemed quite happy with Kizuna's answer. She then stopped licking him, only to take it into her mouth. Yurishia's tongue was like a carpet guiding Kizuna deeper in.

Of course, Kizuna didn't forget about Sylvia. Since the kiss had already been broken, Kizuna figured it was time to try something else.

One of Kizuna's hands grabbed Sylvia's breast. It was small, but Kizuna could definitely make out a soft round mass on her chest. Kizuna used his mouth on her other breast, first licking around her areola, and then sucking on her nipple.

Kizuna's free hand moved down towards Sylvia's butt. As he massaged it, he made sure his fingers came very close to her holes, touching and teasing them.

"Nnn! Captain, it feels good desu~ mmmh!"

Sylvia was unable to hold back her moans, and Kizuna had to admit that really did something to him.

Sylvia's body was still very underdeveloped. Even though it should be taboo to even think about doing something like this to her, Kizuna had to admit he liked the feeling of shattering taboo. Even Yurishia could tell that, from how much Kizuna grew. Of course, Kizuna wasn't about to become someone who had to stay away from elementary schools, but, in situations like this, isn't it fine to let everything out?

"Mmh~! Kizunaah~ you got so hard, fufu. It's fine, so just let it all out whenever you want."

After saying that, Yurishia continued sucking Kizuna. With someone like her saying such a thing, with an erotic voice as well, how could Kizuna resist. He got even harder and would soon let everything out.

Kizuna kept sucking and groping Sylvia as Yurishia bobbed her head back and forward and also used her tongue to pleasure his member.

"Mm! Ah! Cumming!"

A few seconds after Kizuna voiced out, his shots were fired.

Yurishia made sure it was well in her mouth so that not a drop would be lost, but she also didn't put it all the way in so that it wouldn't all go down her throat. Kizuna could only imagine she wanted to taste it. And if that was the case…

Kizuna didn't hold back even a little bit, and filled Yurishia's mouth. Even after he finished Yurishia still let his thing in her mouth for almost a minute to suck out even the very last drop. After that, she let him out and started drinking it, once she was finished she showed it. Sylvia looked amazed and Yurishia saw this as an opportunity.

"Why don't you try it, Sylvia?"

"Really? Can I, captain?"

"W-well…" Kizuna was about to say it wasn't a good idea, but then he remembered he said he would properly look at Sylvia as a member of the opposite sex now. That's why, as long as she was willing to do it, he wouldn't stop her. "Sure, if you want."

Sylvia got on her knees in front of Kizuna. Yurishia told her a few things and then let Sylvia take control. She grabbed the hard member and then moved her hand for a while. Next, she kissed and licked it a few times.

"Both the smell and taste, are so rough desu. But, somehow, I don't dislike it, desu."

She lightly pecked at the tip. Then she kissed it and started slowly opening her mouth. It was clear that she planned to try to take it in now.

Meanwhile, Kizuna figured he should take care of Yurishia. She was sitting on the bed beside him, so Kizuna looked at her.

"You said you were going to charge for what you did earlier, didn't you? Well, I think I'll pay the full price now, and maybe leave some future services already paid."

"Nnh! Well, if you insist."

Kizuna reached for Yurishia's breasts. She came closer to him as he groped her chest and they started kissing. Sylvia was still using her tongue on Kizuna's member in order to pleasure it and try to slip it in, so it should be fine to leave her alone for a little bit.

Yurishia's breasts were too big for Kizuna to hold in his hand, but he still massaged them to the best of his abilities, earning him moans from her whenever her mouth found itself free to do so. Kizuna didn't even need to look to notice how hard Yurishia's nipples were. But that wasn't enough.

Kizuna let one of his hands go down to Yurishia's special place. He quickly noticed how wet it was, but that didn't stop him from slipping a finger in and using his palm to tease her clit.

"Yurishia is already like this even though I barely touched you."

"Nnn~ I got like this from sucking Kizuna. It's not really bad, is it?"

"No, it's not bad at all. … O-oh! S-Sylvia."

"Cahptahn, donth furgeht abuth me dehshu."

As if to call Kizuna's attention, Sylvia finally managed to get the tip in her mouth. The way she talked with her mouth stuffed full with him make Kizuna feel even more aroused, which made him grow even more in her mouth.

As Sylvia tried to get even more of Kizuna in her mouth, Kizuna decided he should finish "paying" Yurishia quickly.

He and she kissed once again. Kizuna groped Yurishia's breast as he used his fingers and palm to tease her special place. Maybe she had been holding back for a bit now, Kizuna could tell Yurishia was close to her limit.

"Nnn~! Kizuna~ Mmm!"

Their tongues intertwined. Yurishia was so close he could easily bring her down, but Kizuna decided to play for a few seconds more.

He used his palm to press and rub her clit while his fingers teased her walls. His other hand grasped her breast as teased the pink hard nipple. Yurishia felt like she was slowly going to climax, but then Kizuna made her cum at the very next second.

"Nnnn! Mmmmmmhh! Waaaahhh!"

It wasn't hard to tell Yurishia had reached climax. She broke the kiss and her body bent like a bow as she tasted pleasure. Her walls tightened so much Kizuna had to take out his finger.

All that was fine, but Kizuna wasn't satisfied with making Yurishia orgasm just once.

"Now, I'll get a little more serious."

"Eh? Nnnh!"

While she still tasted orgasm, Kizuna started pleasuring her all over again.

Both his hands were now focused on her lowed body. She was still too tight for his fingers to enter, but he didn't need to. Using one hand for her front hole and one for the back, Kizuna pleased her without entering her holes.

He took care of her breasts using his mouth. Instead of doing the expected, Kizuna licked Yurishia's breasts. He started from the part between the breasts and wouldn't stop until both mountains were shining.

"Mmmnnhh! Kizuna! Kizunaaaa!"

Her sensitivity made her reach another climax. I'll do it once more, Kizuna thought. He wanted to make Yurishia climax three times in the span of a minute.

Once both of Yurishia's breasts were shining, Kizuna got to teasing the pink tips. Using his tongue, lightly biting, sucking, Kizuna would do whatever was most effective. His hands were still playing with her bottom, and that translated into a third orgasm.

But, even while she was cumming, Kizuna continued playing with her. He was still sucking on her breasts like he was being breastfed like a baby. Of course, Yurishia didn't dislike this and wanted Kizuna to keep going, heightening her climax even further.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh! Aaan!"

Yurishia came so much she wet the bed as if she was still a little girl. She lost all her strength and let her body fall down on the bed so it could rest. The lights from her body and Kizuna's showed that her Heart Hybrid was completed, but this was supposed to be a Connective Hybrid, meaning…

Kizuna was forcibly reminded of what Sylvia was doing when he felt that she had succeeded in getting about half of his length in her mouth. However, she looked like she was having trouble to go further.

But then, they way she looked at him… it was like she wanted him to help her.

"… You want me to push in?"

Sylvia nodded. Just like before, Kizuna felt like he shouldn't be doing this, but if Sylvia wanted to he certainly wouldn't be one to stop this. Just as he had said he would, Kizuna would honestly answer Sylvia's feelings with his own. … And besides, he was still a healthy teenage boy, he couldn't say he disliked it.

Kizuna pushed his member deeper into Sylvia's mouth. It felt like he was deflowering Sylvia's small mouth, which wasn't exactly wrong. He made sure to not force himself too much so it wouldn't hurt Sylvia.

Slowly but surely, Kizuna made his way in. It wasn't long before Sylvia's lips were at his base and his tip was at the back of her throat.

"A-aah! Nn! S-Sylvia, are you ok?"

"Nn~!"

Sylvia nodded once again. Kizuna then asked if it was fine for him to move, and she gave him permission.

Kizuna moved Sylvia's head back and forward. He had to do it slowly the first few times so she wouldn't get hurt, but her mouth was getting accustomed to it, and Kizuna's phase naturally quickened.

Sylvia's small mouth felt really tight, and her saliva was really hot. Even though it hadn't been that long since he came, he felt like it would come again soon from this combination of physical and mental pleasure.

"Mmhn~ chaptahn~ mmh~"

Sylvia tried to call Kizuna, but not to stop him, just to let him know she was enjoying this. Although Kizuna was still the one moving her head back and forward, Sylvia was now using her tongue to pleasure Kizuna inside her mouth.

At the same time, Sylvia used her hands to play with Kizuna's balls. She didn't know how to properly do it, but she knew it felt good for him so she did it anyway. This was the last push Kizuna needed.

"Aaa! C-cumming!"

"Mm! Nnn!"

Kizuna's load went straight down Sylvia's throat, or at least the first shot. Since he didn't want her to choke, Kizuna pulled out as quickly as possible. That resulted in some of his seed covering her small body.

Sylvia just stood there and took Kizuna's load, and then watched as it dripped on her body. It seemed like she was disappointed she couldn't properly taste it, but she made the most of what she got.

She used Kizuna's seed as if it was sunscreen and covered her body with it. She licked the excess off her fingers. Sylvia likely did that because she wanted to be looked at as someone mature, and Kizuna had to admit it had some effect on him.

"Captain's stuff is tasty desu~"

"Oh wow, Sylvia has gotten really bold, hasn't she? Fufu, how about we properly start the Connective Hybrid now?"

Yurishia said as she hugged Kizuna's back, making sure he could feel her breasts, still wet from Kizuna's saliva, very well. Both Sylvia and Kizuna agreed, so they continued.

Sylvia laid down on the bed and Yurishia got on top of her. Their special places touched and, because of their height difference, Sylvia's face was buried in Yurishia's breasts. Normally, Sylvia should be the one on top, but this change was made exactly to break Kizuna's expectations. The big one was on top of the small one.

The Love Room right now was simulating a love hotel's room. Somewhere in Kizuna's mind, he thought that, if he didn't properly control himself, he would cross the line with them right here and now. He knew they wouldn't mind it, but he also didn't want to use their first time on a whim like this, so he decided he would leave it for later.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't do anything right now. Kizuna inserted himself in the space between their special places. His member was sandwiched by Yurishia on the top and Sylvia on the bottom.

"A-aan!"

"Mmnh!"

Kizuna had to focus on pleasing their bodies so that they would orgasm at the same time, doing that, the Connective Hybrid would be successful. For better or worse, Kizuna had enough faith in his sexual experience to be sure he could do this.

However, at no point was it stated Kizuna couldn't feel good himself. He had to focus on the girls, but if he could please all three of them, it would be best.

Kizuna went as deep as he could between Yurishia and Sylvia, and then he pulled back and thrust back in. His motions were getting quicker and quicker.

"Aam~ nn~ S-Sylvia?"

Because of their position, Sylvia's face was buried in Yurishia's breasts. Once Kizuna started moving, Yurishia naturally bend her back, giving Sylvia some breathing room.

But, instead of just moaning as expected, Sylvia launched an attack to Yurishia's breasts. She sucked on the left breast as she used her hand to play with the right one.

"Yurishia's breasts are so big desu, maybe mine will grow like that if I suck it out of them desu."

"I'm sure that's not how it works but… Sylvia right now is like a baby, and it feels good, so you can keep going. In exchange…"

As Sylvia continued playing, Yurishia started moving her lower body. Now, not only Kizuna's member, Yurishia's place was also rubbing against Sylvia. However, that was a double-edged sword. Yurishia was driving herself and Sylvia ever closer to climax.

Although he couldn't properly see what Sylvia was doing, Kizuna could understand the situation. Maybe not seeing it only sparked his imagination. Kizuna couldn't help imagine Sylvia buried in Yurishia's breasts as she sucked them like a hungry baby, and that vision was responsible for getting Kizuna to maximum levels.

"Mmnh! Chuun~mm~! Nmnm!"

"Aaahn~ it feels like my breasts really might let out some milk if Sylvia keeps this up mmm~ and Kizuna, even though he's just rubbing against me, it's good~"

"I'm glad you too are feeling good. I'll deal the finishing blow now."

Kizuna's movements became rougher. Wet sounds reverberated around the room as Kizuna passed their golden bushes. Of course, Kizuna wasn't just being rougher, he knew how to make them feel good and was making full use of that knowledge.

Both Yurishia's and Sylvia's places started drooling. There was a string connecting Kizuna's thing to them and the bed under them was stained with their juices.

Yurishia's moans were getting louder and louder, and Sylvia was starting to lose her rhythm for sucking Yurishia's breasts. Their heads were becoming white, and they soon welcomed climax.

"Aaaahhnnn!"

"Mmmmhhhnnn!"

The Connective Hybrid was successful, as shown by the lights coming from their bodies. However, Kizuna wasn't done just yet. He continued thrusting until he came.

He painted Yurishia and Sylvia's stomachs and bushes white with his seed. Because of this last thrusts, both girls came once again, succeeding in another Connective Hybrid. Even so, the lust in their eyes showed that they wanted more. That's why Kizuna didn't even ask, he kissed their lips, and they continued for a while longer.

Some time passed. Both Kizuna and the girls welcomed many other climaxes after that, they figured they should end it after one more, though they really felt like going on forever.

Both Yurishia and Sylvia had many parts of their bodies covered in white. Right now, they were servicing Kizuna's part with their mouths. They had their butts turned towards Kizuna, who was taking care of them.

Yurishia was sucking the member while Sylvia had his balls in her mouth. Kizuna was fingering them, he had his thumb in their front hole and index finger in the back one. Just as he said, he was thinking of Sylvia as he would Yurishia or any other girl, that's why he didn't hold back against either of them.

During this Connective Hybrid, Sylvia said she wanted to be seen as a woman by Kizuna. Because of this Connective Hybrid, Kizuna had to treat Sylvia as a woman. Once this Connective Hybrid ended, Sylvia would become one of Kizuna's lovers, properly this time.

"Mmh~ Kishunah~"

"Nnn~ Cahpahn~!"

"Yeah, I'm close. And I can tell you two are as well. We'll be done soon."

If that was the case, both girls wanted to make the most of the time they still had. Sylvia played with Kizuna's balls using her tongue and Yurishia sucked more intensely.

Both Yurishia and Sylvia were pressing down on Kizuna's fingers. They both felt tight, but felt different at the same time. Once again, Kizuna had to properly endure himself so he wouldn't do something he couldn't undo.

Many sounds could be heard in the Love Room. Wet sounds coming from Yurishia and Sylvia's lower bodies as Kizuna fingered them. Sounds coming from Sylvia and Yurishia's mouths as they used them to service Kizuna. The sounds were incredibly lewd, but no one really cared.

"Aahn, mmh~"

"Nnhn, mmugu~"

"A-ah! T-that's- I'm cumming!"

Before Kizuna shot his load, both Sylvia and Yurishia got ready. They watched him ejaculate and some of his seed even got on their faces.

But Kizuna didn't want to be the only one. While they weren't expecting it, Kizuna used his fingers to pleasure them. They were close to climax as well, so it wasn't hard for Kizuna to make them reach it.

"Aaaah!"

"Mmmhh aaaa!"

Both of their juices flowed out. Their last Connective Hybrid was an undoubtful success.

After that, they rested for a few minutes before taking a bath together. Kizuna had the pleasure of washing their bodies and Yurishia and Sylvia teamed up to wash Kizuna.

Once they came out, Yurishia and Sylvia's Hybrid Count, which had been low ever since the fight with Thor, was well over 100%. Hayuru kept saying "I really should have used more energy during that fight" to which Kizuna still didn't know how to respond properly.

And also, Sylvia made sure to properly tell everyone Kizuna had properly recognized her as a woman, which was a little troublesome, but it still made Kizuna happy.


	30. Board Game

Since Thanatos said she wanted to spend some time with Kizuna, he thought about what they could do together. There wasn't much for them to do in this settlement-world, and Kizuna couldn't just ask for them to be dropped off at some world.

While Kizuna was wondering about that, surprisingly, it was Landred that helped him.

"If that's the case, why don't you two play this game? Well, you'll need to invite more people though."

Landred handed Kizuna some kind of board game from her country, Baldein. Now that Kizuna thought about it, Landred is a queen, but for some reason enjoys helping out like this.

Well, Kizuna wouldn't be the one to say something about it, at least not while she wore such a tight and sexy nurse outfit. I mean, it's not because of that. In fact, for someone who didn't really get hurt ever since he was revived, Kizuna does visit the infirmary a lot. He's probably just making sure he's always in top shape, yeah, that should be it.

After Landred explained the basics of the game to him, Kizuna thanked her and took the board game with him. Once he met Thanatos, he told her they were going to play a game and that he only had to call some people.

"Heey, Kizuna, we're here."

"Hey there."

According to Landred, this game had to be played with a lot of people. She mentioned that there was a holyday on her country were everyone got together and played one giant round of this game. Of course, there was no way Kizuna could do something like that, so he figured 5 people should be about enough.

There was already him and Thanatos, so 2, 3 if he invited Gertude, who also lived with them. Kizuna needed 2 more, and when he thought about someone who could liven up the mood but would still have enough self control, Kizuna arrived at an answer.

For the last 2, Kizuna invited Yurishia and Scarlet. They wouldn't be too strict, nor world they get too competitive. He had already explained the situation and they agreed to help.

"Well then, let's get started?"

They quickly organized and started playing the game.

It was like a simple board game. Each player would roll a dice and the number the dice landed on would tell how far they could move, but, unlike most board games, there wasn't a set path they had to follow. The board was divided into grids and each player could move in any direction.

The objective of the game wasn't to reach a certain place, rather, it was to accumulate points. Once they landed on a space, the player would take a card, decided by the spot which they landed on, and read it. Some cards awarded points, some stole points, some allowed the player to move further and some had challenges to be completed in order to earn points. Out of all of them, the challenges were in higher quantity. Kizuna and the others decided to do 10 turns of the game.

They rolled the dice to decide on the playing order. Surprisingly, on Thanatos' turn, she rolled the highest number, meaning she would go first. The others weren't nearly as impressive, except for Gertude rolling not a zero, but a negative number.

"What the hell?! I didn't even know there were negative numbers in this damn dice!"

After Gertude was able to let out her anger, the game started.

Thanatos rolled the dice. For the second time in a row, she got the highest number. Since the game was completely unknown to everyone, Thanatos just arbitrarily chose where to go and then picked up a card.

""Lucky. Gets 10 points." Not a bad start I guess."

So Thanatos was already starting on the lead, heh. Well, they didn't really know how significant 10 points were, so no one was thinking she had a huge lead or anything.

After Thanatos was Kizuna's turn. He rolled the dice, landed on a space and took a card.

""Challenge. Take off your shirt for the rest of the game and earn 5 points." W-well… I guess I'll do it."

The game did allow them to refuse the challenges, but they wouldn't earn the points. If it was just this much, then Kizuna guessed there would be no problems in doing it. He expected far more from a game that came from Landred.

After Kizuna took off his shirt, both Gertude and Thanatos averted their eyes, while Yurishia and Scarlet seemed more like they were staring at him. Kizuna felt a bit troubled, but decided to ignore it.

Up next was Scarlet. After she picked up the card, she read it out loud.

""Challenge. Remove your underwear and earn 10 points." Easy enough."

Scarlet unceremoniously took off her bra and panties, but kept the rest of her clothes on. It was… actually impressive to see someone take off their underwear without taking off their clothes, she didn't show much of her skin. After she finished, she left he underwear beside her. Since she didn't take anything off other than her underwear, it didn't even look like there was anything different.

Now that Kizuna thought about it, since this was coming from Landred's home country, there should be some challenges that they shouldn't do there. He decided he would stop the game if things got too out of hand.

"I didn't expect Scarlet to be so bold."

"Well, how do I say this? The only man here is Kizuna, and he's already seen me naked ever since that Connective Hybrid with you, so I didn't really feel any hesitation."

Kizuna felt like there was something wrong with that, but figured he shouldn't say anything.

"If that's the case, then I won't hesitate either."

Yurishia rolled the dice and picked up a card.

""Challenge. Spin the wheel and kiss the indicated player on the lips and earn 5 points. The person who is kissed gets 2 points." Fair enough."

Yurishia then picked up a spinning wheel that came along with the board game. They quickly set things up and Yurishia gave the wheel a spin. Actually, at first, she tried cheating by trying to figure out how much strength she needed to use to get what she wanted, but Scarlet scolded her, so Yurishia gave up and played fair.

The pointer spun around a few times before it stopped. The person Yurishia had to kiss was… Scarlet.

"I-I guess I have no choice, huh."

Actually, she could refuse, but no one bothered to remind her of that. Yurishia didn't seem to dislike it either and Scarlet seemed more happy than troubled.

Then, they kissed. The only requirement was for them to kiss on the lips, but Scarlet and Yurishia were the type of person to go through with what they did.

"Nn,mmh!"

"Mm, chuu~"

They even used their tongues on their kiss. It lasted for a good 30 seconds before they finally broke it, but there was still a string of saliva connecting their mouths. It was such an amazing kiss even those who were just watching were left speechless.

"W-well, it's finally Ger-san's turn."

"Y-yeah. Here I go."

Gertude rolled the dice. What came out was a 5. She landed next to Yurishia and then picked up a card.

""Challenge. Spin the wheel and kiss another player on the lips using the number you got as minutes. Earn 4 X [number of minutes] points. The person who is kissed gets 2 X [number of minutes] points." W-what?! Damn, what the hell is this?!"

In short, this card meant that Gertude would have to kiss someone for 5 minutes, since that was the number she got. If she did it, she would earn 20 points and the person who is kissed would get 10 points. If nothing else, there is a high payoff for just 5 minutes of kissing.

"Uuuh… Fine, I'll do it."

After she decided, they set up the spinning wheel for Gertude. The person she landed on… was Kizuna.

"I wanted to get Kizuna on my turn" Yurishia commented to herself.

"If Ger-san doesn't mind it, I'll do it."

"I don't mind it, but seriously stop using that damn nickname."

Even as she said that, she approached Kizuna's face and kissed him. They had to keep it up for 5 minutes, but they couldn't just place their lips on top of each other.

Since it was like that, they might as well make the most of it. They opened their mouths and deepened the kiss, as time passed, their heads were getting blank from the lack of air.

They stopped once Scarlet called out saying the 5 minutes were done. Their brains were fried from the lack of air, but other than that, things were mostly fine. If it was Yurishia, or Aine or someone else, Kizuna was sure the kiss would have turned out quite heated and would have probably lasted longer, but since he and Gertude are just friends, it ended with just kissing for the amount of time needed. That isn't to say it wasn't enjoyable.

"Ger-san isn't a bad kisser."

"Really now, just stop using that damn nickname! But thanks anyway, you however are way too good at that! You've just kissed damn too many girls!"

And so the first turn of this board game ended.

As for the following turns… Thanatos kept getting lucky and only gaining or stealing points without ever having to do a challenge. But the others only had normal luck, except for Gertude, who had horrible luck as she only landed on challenges that she didn't really want to do, but had such high payoffs that she had to take them.

For example, there was a turn were she had to let everyone grope her chest and she would get 5 points for each person.

"Mmnh~"

"Come on Scarlet, let's massage Gertude's breasts until they get as big as ours!"

"Haha, for sure!"

While Kizuna and Thanatos hadn't really done much, Yurishia and Scarlet took full advantage of that turn.

But surely, the turn Gertude must have gotten the most embarrassed was the one where she had to answer a deep question another player would ask, and she would get 10 points for every proper answer.

Of course, Scarlet and Yurishia were the ones who enjoyed it the most.

"So, my dear underling, what first times have you had until now? Of course, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

"W-what's with that "underling" stuff? W-well, just the normal stuff, at least what is normal around here, you know. First kiss, first time being seen naked by a man, or rather boss. I did and have been done a lot of things by boss, but I really don't feel like naming everything."

"Heh, since you had Kizuna all for yourself for some time, I expected a lot more. Then my question now. Is there anything you haven't done yet that you'd like to during a Heart Hybrid?"

"Are all your damn questions just going to be like this? The other two at least asked something normal. But well, there was one time that I was really taken by the hybrid's side-effects and I wanted boss to do me more, but luckily, he was able to resist."

"Yurishia, you should remember to corner her with the questions or she's just going to give half answers like that. Watch and learn, Gertude, can you describe in detail the best thing Kizuna ever did to you, and what you said you wanted him to do at that time?"

"I could, but I won't. And I think that's enough questions."

With Gertude suddenly bringing an end to their fun, both Scarlet and Yurishia were left there saying "eeh, no fun~" by themselves.

Of course, there were also things that happened to Scarlet and Yurishia that were a little embarrassing.

Like that one turn Scarlet had to let two players, Kizuna and Yurishia in that case, suck on her breasts as if she was breastfeeding them.

"Nnnh~ t-this isn't good. I could get used to this."

"I know. I feels really good, doesn't it?"

Yurishia seemed to let a little bit of one of her fetishes escape, and that got everyone in the room a bit worried.

There was also that one turn Yurishia had to reveal something embarrassing.

"Because I've only been doing Connective Hybrids recently, I haven't been able to get Kizuna to do what he knows I like. Of course, I like everything Kizuna does to me, but there is that one thing. It's been such a long time since I got punished…"

Luckily, most people didn't hear that last part.

Once the last turn came about, the game seemed to be mostly decided. Gertude had a huge lead because she kept taking all the challenges, but Thanatos was right behind her even though she basically had done nothing. The others were just glad to be there.

Then, Thanatos rolled the dice, landed and took a card. And then she read:

""Steal. Takes all the points from the first place.""

"Gah! After all that I lose like this?! Damn it!"

Gertude wasn't really mad that she was losing the game, but rather that all that effort ended up not paying off. What a cheat card! Actually, what luck Thanatos had to find that card within more than 100 others.

Kizuna's, Scarlet's and Yurishia's rolls weren't nearly as game-changing. It was up to Gertude to finish the game.

She rolled the dice, landed on a space and took the final card. She read it, then… came crawling up to Kizuna and started crying on his shoulder.

"Waaah! What damn luck!"

It was then that Kizuna and the others saw the card. "Unlucky. Lose 10 points" and that's how Thanatos finished the game in first place with an overwhelming lead and Gerude in last place with negative points.

A few hours had passed since the game ended. Yurishia and Scarlet had already left and Gertude had likely decided to sleep after that beating (in game).

Kizuna and Thanatos were alone. Although Kizuna had suggested that game so that he could get closer to Thanatos, it ended up not helping at all. She was just too lucky! Was she a goddess of luck or something?!

"Sorry, Thanatos, for having spent all that time for basically nothing."

"Eh? N-no, I… I had fun. It wasn't what I thought when I said I wanted us to spend some time together, but it was fun."

"A-ah, I'm glad you had fun at least. But please, give me one more chance. Tomorrow for sure, we'll deepen the bond between us, just give me one more chance."

Kizuna lowered his head and asked. Thanatos felt he didn't need to go that far, but she also didn't want to just dismiss Kizuna's good will.

"Sure. I'll be waiting."

Thanatos then flashed him a smile. One that really made Kizuna think she was worthy of being called a goddess.

Kizuna began working his brain so that he could do his best tomorrow.


	31. Dress Up

Kizuna had noticed something. Even while she still had her powers, Thanatos only wore one dress. Kizuna didn't know a lot about clothing, but he knew it was important for a lot of women, so he thought he could help Thanatos choose new clothes.

Actually, wearing only one set of clothes was a problem amongst all goddesses apparently. Even Nayuta still wore that same kimono. Thor changed clothes like anyone else, but apparently goddesses have something against it? In fact, rather than Thanatos, Kizuna could say Odin and Osiris' were the ones in most need to get new clothes, but part of him didn't want them to change from those high exposure rate outfits, so he decided to focus only on Thanatos.

That being said, it's not like there was any store around here, so Kizuna would have to try to find something else. That's when he thought that he could ask someone to bring some clothes they didn't want anymore or wanted to get rid of and give them to Thanatos. This plan would even allow someone who knew more about clothing than Kizuna to help Thanatos, so it shouldn't be bad.

And that's what Kizuna had arranged for them to do. He was able to get Aine, Hayuru and Grace to help out. Thanatos seemed a bit surprised.

"Then, we're going to help her change and you wait here, Kizuna."

"Ok, I'll be waiting."

"W-wait a second, what's going on?"

The girls just took Thanatos somewhere she could change without saying anything. Kizuna just waited where he was.

After a few minutes, Thanatos came back for the first time. The one who came with her was Grace, so Thanatos was probably wearing something Grace brought over.

But, before Kizuna could see Thanatos, Grace set up some curtains between Kizuna and them. She said it was just to make it a little more exiting. Grace stepped out of the curtains and then said.

"Nii-sama, look and be amazed by my sense of style and Thanatos' beauty!"

Then, Grace pulled the curtain, revealing Thanatos behind them.

Overall, Kizuna had to say it was something he could imagine Grace wearing. It was a pink dress with a frilly skirt. The dress could be described as mostly cute, but there was also sex appeal in it, as the part that covered the breasts made a triangle with the part around the neck, making so that one could see a little bit of sidebreast when looking at an angle. It didn't have as high exposure rate as other clothes from Vatlantis, but it didn't lose to any of them.

The thing is, there was a size difference between Grace and Thanatos, so that cute dress became something else.

Because of how big Thanatos' breasts were compared to Grace's, they looked like they were about to spill out. There was also the height difference, which made the dress barely cover the lower portion of Thanatos' body.

"T-this is…"

Thanatos was clearly embarrassed, which Kizuna thought was cute, but completely understandable at the same time. Grace didn't seem to mind as she continued.

"So, nii-sama, what do you think?"

"E-eh? A-ah, I think Grace has a great sense of style. It really looks… amazing, yeah. But I think you should let her change now."

Kizuna knew the best way to end this quickly for Thanatos was to give his opinion on it. After hearing Kizuna praise her sense of style, Grace blushed a bit and smiled "thehe" as she took Thanatos along with her.

Thanatos thanked Kizuna from the bottom of her heart for ending this quickly. Even Kizuna was relieved. Thanatos herself was beautiful, but her body was worthy of being called a goddess' body, so Kizuna couldn't afford to get too temped.

Luckily, Kizuna was able to calm down as he waited for Thanatos to come back. The one who came with her next was Hayuru, so Kizuna knew she wouldn't have chosen anything lewd.

"W-well, this is kinda simple, but I think Kizuna will still like it."

Hayuru then pulled the curtains, revealing the Thanatos behind.

Just as Hayuru said, it was a simple white dress. But that's not to say it wasn't beautiful. Rather, it could be said that the simplicity of the dress emphasized Thanatos' own beauty. The white contrasted nicely with Thanatos' blond hair and, although the long skirt didn't show much skin, the dress still clung to her curves.

Even though it was simple, it nearly made Kizuna drop his jaws. Not just Thanatos, Kizuna wished he also saw Hayuru herself in this dress. He had to remember to get her to wear something like this for him in the future.

"H-how is it, Kizuna?"

Hayuru seemed a bit nervous, like she was afraid she had been too simple. Maybe she didn't have confidence in her sense of style? In any case, Kizuna would give his honest opponion.

"I think it looks really good. The dress itself is simple, but because of that you can see even more of the wearer's beauty. What do you think, Thanatos?"

"I also like it. It doesn't look too different from what I normally wear, but I feel like there's some big difference. If I had to say one fault…"

"Huh? What would that be?"

Hayuru asked, and even Kizuna was a bit curious. Then, a bit embarrassed, Thanatos said.

"Well, the chest part feels a bit tight."

"Sorry for not having big breasts!"

Hayuru had always had some kind of complex because of the size of her breasts because the other girls around her had… more advantages. That's the reason why Hayuru got a bit mad from what Thanatos said, but it wasn't hard to calm her down, after all, she was still a sensible person.

Hayuru took Thanatos with her. When she left, Hayuru seemed a bit more happy, probably because something she chose had been approved by Kizuna. From logic, it should be Aine who comes up next.

… Well, unlike the previous cases, size shouldn't be a problem with Aine's clothes, or at least Kizuna hoped. Though Kizuna had to admit he did not dislike seeing Thanatos in a tight outfit.

"W-wait, are you really sure this is fine?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine, I promise. These are clothes as well you know."

Kizuna could hear Thanatos and Aine's voices from behind the curtains. He was a bit worried about what he had heard, but decided to not jump to conclusions. Maybe he understood something wrong.

After a few more minutes, Aine finally came out from the curtains and started talking with Kizuna.

"Just as I expected, both Hayuru and Grace had closed minds and only brought clothes like dresses, skirts, blouses and such. But I have a much broader mind and decided to cover for the rest."

"Oi oi, what are you making Thanatos wear? And what do you mean "cover for the rest"?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing improper. Now then, let's start."

Aine pulled the curtains, and Thanatos behind them was… wearing a swimsuit!

It was a dark-blue swimsuit. It wasn't anything like a micro-bikini, it covered a normal amount of skin for a swimsuit. But still, the shock from something unexpected was already a big hit on Kizuna.

The dark-blue swimsuit really clung to Thanatos' skin, to the point she felt like she was naked. The strings connecting the swimsuit weren't thick, so, at a quick glance, once would think there was just dark-blue fabric stuck to her skin. Thanatos looked really embarrassed, so her cuteness factor shot through the roof.

"E-eh, a-ah…"

Kizuna didn't know how to react. His mind had yet to decide on averting his eyes, taking a good look at Thanatos and burning that image into his brain, or imagining Aine in that swimsuit. In the end, Kizuna was unable to resist and took a quick look then avoided his eyes, he let his mind render a high definition image as he tried to focus on Aine and Thanatos.

"Fufu, there is also clothing that's only to be used in certain scenarios, like a swimsuit for example. I've decided to take care of that while Hayuru and Grace deal with the everyday clothes."

Well, Aine's logic was sound, but it's not like there's any beach or pool around here though. Really, what is she thinking? Kizuna thought.

"W-well, if you're going that far… the swimsuit looks great on you, Thanatos. To be honest, I'm kinda troubled where to look."

"D-don't say embarrassing things so easily."

Although Thanatos looked away to hide her embarrassment, she didn't seem unhappy with what Kizuna had said. But she still dashed away in order to get changed.

And so the selection of clothing for Thanatos went. Hayuru's clothes were all good, but they all had the same problem with the chest part. Grace had good intentions, but her size was just too small for Thanatos to wear.

Aine had brought even more clothes. Kizuna had to wonder just how did she convince Thanatos to wear them. Some of them were just too amazing for Kizuna to look at directly. Thanatos ended up keeping some of them, but Kizuna had to remember to ask Aine for a private fashion show.

Now that he stopped to think about it, was that Aine's objective from the start? To use giving some spare clothes to Thanatos as an excuse to seduce Kizuna into wanting to see her in sexy outfits? Kizuna thought that may very well be the case, but he wasn't really against it.

A few hours had passed since everyone left and Kizuna and Thanatos were left alone.

"I guess you won't have to worry about clothes for a while. Ah! But I ended up making the same mistake I did the last time!"

Kizuna thought everything was fine until the point where he remembered why he called the girls over in the first place. Why was it so hard to get close to someone when he wanted to?

But then, Thanatos put her hand over Kizuna's. Once he looked at her, she said.

"Even so, I had fun. Both today and yesterday. We didn't spend a lot of time together just the two of us, but it was fun. But, rather than planning some kind of event, how about we just talk like this every now and then? I think that'll work better for the objective of getting closer."

The reason why Thanatos wanted to get closer to Kizuna was that, in order to fight Hypnos, they would need to do Heart Hybrid, and she would naturally be uneasy to do it with someone she wasn't close with. Or that's what Kizuna guessed was her motivation.

But Kizuna himself didn't want to get closer to Thanatos just for that, he really wanted to be her friend, and he hoped he wasn't the only one. So Kizuna only noticed once Thanatos said it herself.

When Kizuna got closer to Aine, he didn't do it because she almost died and they had to do Heart Hybrid. They got closer from normal everyday conversations and interactions rather than some kind of event. Why didn't he notice such an obvious answer? Just spending some time together every day would naturally bring them closer.

"Aah, I hadn't thought about that. I think it's a good idea. Then, to make up for lost time, let's start right now."

Maybe it was a bit forceful of Kizuna, but he really wanted to get closer to Thanatos as soon as possible. As she didn't mind it, they started talking about some random things.

After some time, Kizuna decided to ask something that was on his mind.

"Thanatos, after everything is over, where do you plan to go?"

"T-that, well… I don't know. There's no guarantee anyone will get their powers back, and I never had anywhere to go to begin with, so…"

"If that's the case, don't you want to come live with us?"

Thanatos' confusion was visible in her face, so Kizuna explained himself.

"Ah, I don't mean you have to live with me or anything. It can be with nee-chan or someone else, even in Vatlantis if you want. Of course, it can also be just so that you can sort things out and decide what to do after things are done."

"… Yeah, I think that could be fun. But are you sure it's fine?"

"I'm 100% sure. In fact, if you promise to show me that swimsuit again, I'll even take you to the beach if you want."

Kizuna was a bit worried she might not get his joke, but then Thanatos started laughing, so he guessed it was fine.

"In that case, maybe you should also invite Hokuto. She also lost her powers, and she was alone in her world even before that. I don't know what happened for sure, but somehow Hokuto was the only person left in her world, so I think it would be too sad to just send her back like that."

Kizuna then recalled when he first met Hokuto. There were signs of civilization in her world, but the only person there was Hokuto herself. Kizuna had forgotten about this until Thanatos mentioned it just now.

"Then, I'll invite her as well. At that time, I hope Thanatos helps me convince her to come with us."

"She was always lonely before, but looks so happy now, so I don't think she'd need any convincing, but sure, I'll help."

It's funny to think how much Thanatos had changed. When she had her powers, she wasn't a bad person, but didn't care for others more than just not doing unnecessary damage. But now, after living together with everyone for some time, she was starting to become a nice person Kizuna just wanted to be friends with.

Kizuna and Thanatos just kept wasting small talk like that. Somehow, it even made them forget everything that had happened until now. How they were enemies before, how Kizuna saved Thanatos from being killed by Hypnos and died in the process, how they did a Kisscharge Hybrid to defend against Hypnos' attack, it all seemed like lies.

Once the day ended, they exchanged goodnights and went to sleep. On the next day, and the one after that, instead of planning something for them to do, they would just talk like this whenever they could.

And as such, slowly but surely, they were getting closer and closer to the other.


	32. Hypnos Prepares

The following happens not long after Hypnos' attack was ended by Thor's appearance.

Hypnos went back to the lab he used as a hideout. He was so furious he started thrashing everything around him.

"Aaaa! Shit! Why did he have to show up then?!"

As Hypnos continued destroying whatever he could, he saw the other man who also lived there, the one who called himself Chronos.

Chronos looked like he was moving some boxes. Hypnos found that strange and wondered what this was about.

"What are you doing?"

"You failed, Hypnos. That's why I decided it was best for me to stay away for a while until you either defeat them, or are defeated by them, whichever happens first. Ah, but don't worry, your failure just now wasn't so bad. You can take advantage of it."

Hypnos looked confused so Chronos continued explaining.

"You attacked them, so now they'll try to strike back. But that might be for the best. They surely won't be as easy to find now, so why don't you let them come over? If you fight them here, you'll be able to prepare this place for that battle."

Once Chronos said that, Hypnos then realized it wasn't a bad plan.

Surely Kizuna and the others wouldn't be as easy to find as just going back to where they last where, so it'll be a lot easier if they come to Hypnos. In that case, there's any number of things Hypnos could prepare in the time it took them to find and get here.

Of course, they weren't talking about putting a landmine on the ground and then waiting for someone to step on it. There were many different forms to prepare for a fight.

"Since my research hasn't advanced to the point where I can help in battle, I figured it would be best if I stayed away until that was done, besides I'd rather not meddle in other's fights. You can do whatever you want with this place, I'm taking the last box right now and I won't come back until this is finished."

Hypnos nodded. He started taking quick looks into all the rooms just so that he could get an overall layout of the place and maybe start getting some ideas when he noticed something.

The "sleeping woman" was still left where she normally was, meaning Chronos wasn't taking her along.

She was still being held up by the "vines" on her arms and was still undressed. There wasn't any reaction from her yet, and Chronos didn't seem like he was going to take her with him.

"Aren't you taking her as well? I thought she was your plaything."

Even though that woman could be considered Hypnos and Thanatos' mother, Hypnos couldn't care less about her. As far as he knew, she was the reason why his body got sicker every time he used his powers. She was the person he hated above anyone else.

"Over many years both you and me have tried to wake her up, but we haven't gotten any results. I figured maybe it was time to let the daughter try."

Hypnos didn't really care about it. Not even enough to answer anything.

But… supposing she did wake up, what would he do? Maybe he would just kill her right then and there, or maybe he would like to make her suffer first. In any case, it wasn't certain she would wake up, so it wasn't worth thinking about it.

Then, as Chronos finished moving, Hypnos started his preparations.

If nothing else, anger only served to make Hypnos even more determined. He would make sure that, even if he didn't win, neither would Kizuna and Thanatos.

If he couldn't kill them, he would make them want to die. How would he do that? It's quite simple. Hypnos just had to kill and destroy everything they cared about.


	33. Find Hypnos

From the day Kizuna and Thanatos started talking more frequently, about two weeks had passed.

Nayuta had said she discovered something important and asked everyone to get together in the command room. Since they lived together, Kizuna and Thanatos figured they might as well go there together.

Even though they had only started getting closer for really two weeks, they had already deepened their bond by a lot. It wasn't unusual for them to go out together and talk for the whole day, but it also wasn't something they were forcing themselves to do.

"Still, what do you think this is about, Thanatos?"

"No idea. Maybe the results from the tests she did on us finally came out? But then she shouldn't make this much of an uproar, so I really have nothing."

They naturally became able to converse more casually like this. Of course, most of their talks was about non-important stuff. Thanks to that, they really got to know a side of the other person they didn't even imagine.

For example…

"By the way, this dress turned out really good, didn't it? It looks like it was made by some kind of professional."

"T-thanks" Thanatos was a bit embarrassed, but still genuinely happy.

"But still, who would have guessed the former strongest goddess was also good at sewing?"

The dress Thanatos was wearing wasn't the one she had always been nor any of the ones she got from Hayuru or Grace. It was a mostly white dress, but there were some pink stripes on it, and the dress skirt was only medium length now.

During one of their conversations, Kizuna asked about the clothes Thanatos had gotten and she mentioned she didn't know if she would be able to wear most of them. Kizuna jokingly made a suggestion that maybe she could try to sew something, but Thanatos took it seriously and gave it a try.

Kizuna had no idea where she got it from, but Thanatos was able to get a sewing kit. After doing just a little bit of practice, she started messing with the clothes she had been given. Before Kizuna noticed, she had already used the small pink dress Grace gave her to adjust the white dress Hayuru gave her.

Today was this dress' first use, but Kizuna himself would have never been able to tell it had been modified by Thanatos if he hadn't seen her do it.

"You have good luck in games and learned how to sew with ease. I wonder if the strongest goddess is a jack of all trades."

"One doesn't have anything to do with the other, right?"

And, while wasting small talk like that, Kizuna and Thanatos reached the command room.

Once they arrived, they didn't have to wait long until everyone got there. Other than Kizuna and Thanatos, the usual member consisting of Nayuta, Reiri, Kei, Osiris and Odin were also there. There were also the new members like Thor and Hokuto, who decided to take part in these meetings.

Kizuna wanted to talk with Reiri, but things had been awkward between them for a while, and the presence of other people didn't help. In the end, Kizuna couldn't gather the courage to talk with Reiri, but he kept looking at her, and that made Reiri look the other way, as if she was trying to avoid him.

"Well, to start things off, I have something to give to Thanatos."

"Me?"

Nayuta picked up a collar she had been keeping somewhere. The collar had a blue, diamond shaped, form attached to it. Nayuta then gave the collar to Thanatos.

"This is the finished version of those weaponized arms we were working on. Remember them? I made them like that so you could keep them around at all times. To be honest, I was going to make them a core for a new Heart Hybrid Gear so Kizuna could install it on you, but everyone insisted I didn't do that, so I had to give in."

Hearing Nayuta say that, Kizuna was reminded of the time he installed Sylvia's core. He was able to hold back at that time, but if he had to do it with Thanatos… Kizuna was thankful to everyone who talked his mother out of it.

As soon as she received the collar, Thanatos put it on her neck. Although it wasn't just an accessory, it really did look beautiful on her.

"Now that you've received a weapon, it would be good to get accustomed to it. How about me and Thor train you for a little bit?"

"I'm already being bribed-" Thor seemed like he was going to say something, but Odin eyed him as if asking "you really want to do that?" so Thor faked a cough changed his words. "I'm already "very willingly" training a ton of people here, a goddess that lost her powers shouldn't be much trouble. I won't teach you anything, but I'll take you on anytime."

"Thanks, you two. I'll gladly accept your offer."

What Osiris said was very true. Even though Kizuna joked about Thanatos being a jack of all trades earlier, going into battle without even knowing your weapons isn't a good idea. It was good that Osiris and Thor offered to help and Thanatos took their offer.

It was strange to think that at some point Thanatos held so much more power than the other gods that she barely even paid attention to them. Rather than saying she had fallen, it was like she had become a better person. Though it's not like she was a bad person to begin with, she just tried to take care of everything alone.

"That reminds me, Hokuto."

Thanatos called Hokuto's attention and then continued. Kizuna thought he knew what she was going to talk about.

"Recently, Kizuna asked me where I planned to go after this was all over, and when I told him I didn't have anywhere to go, he said it was fine for me to stay in his world. So I want to ask you, Hokuto, don't you also want to go? You wouldn't get lonely anymore."

"R-really? Can I? If no one minds it, I'd like to go."

"Yeah, it's fine. You can live there if you want."

Although only Kizuna answered, Reiri, Kei and Nayuta all nodded, and surely there shouldn't be anyone who really minds that.

Because of that, everyone in the room, looked at Kizuna, which made him get flustered for no reason. Even Odin was saying something like "I've seen better, but that's some smoot talk right there." Since it was already like this Kizuna figured he might as well say everything.

"I was just thinking that, throughout this time we all spend together, we did grow a bit closer to each other. So I think it's fine for everyone to come visit even after this is all over if they wanted to."

There was Osiris and Yurishia, who grew close together, but there was also Thor who, for as much as he complained, didn't dislike the people here, and also Odin, who liked to play around with everyone. Osiris and Odin even were the reason why Kizuna and the others had a world to come back to. Kizuna didn't want these bonds to vanish after they defeated Hypnos, that's why he invited everyone.

"That's all well and good. Everyone can come visit whenever they like and is even welcomed to stay. But, for now, let's get back to the main topic I called everyone here for."

They noticed they had been wasting a lot of time, so everyone quickly shut up and listened to Nayuta.

"I think I've found a way to locate Hypnos. It's time we strike back against him."

Everyone was surprised to hear that, just Hokuto and Kei seemed the least surprised. Kizuna remembered that Hokuto had already mentioned something like this to him a while back, and Kei likely had helped Nayuta. Then, Nayuta started explaining what she found out exactly.

"Everyone here remembers the shadow gods, right? I was thinking if we couldn't use them to our advantage. Turns out we still have some connection to the powers Hypnos stole from us, meaning we can use them as a tracer. I had that idea not long after the attack, but with all that happened with Thor, I was only able to work on it recently."

"But… isn't it dangerous? Hypnos could very well know about this and be prepared for it."

What Thanatos said was pure logic, but Nayuta eased everyone.

"Of course, we'll also prepare for that. It's not like we're going to attack right now. We'll plan everything properly and beat him in his own game."

Certainly, if they could locate Hypnos, they could choose a good time to attack, and also prepare for him fighting back. Hypnos' power, which would have caused a lot more damage had Thor not appeared, was going to be used against him.

"So, I wanted to ask everyone here, will you help us?"

"Of course. Can't wait to get my revenge."

"You all took care of me while I was unconscious, so I'll help. Well, I had already said I'd help when you asked before though."

"I'll also help, for the sake of finding Hypnos."

Odin, Hokuto and then Thanatos answered in order. Even thought they didn't have their powers stolen, Osiris and Thor also answered.

"I can't help with finding Hypnos, but you can count on me if you need me."

"Heh, if that's the case, I'll make sure to be even more severe with training the people around here. Hypnos is in for a surprise if he thinks things will go like last time. I'll make sure he can't land a hand on anyone even at his strongest."

Nayuta nodded again and again. She already knew what their answers would be, but she wanted to as ask anyway, even though she didn't know the reason for it. Maybe it was just something emotional.

"Thanks, everyone."

[Then please, Thanatos, Hokuto, Odin, follow me and Professor Nayuta. We'll show you how we'll locate Hypnos.]

Kei and Nayuta guided the three goddesses outside the room. Kizuna didn't know where they would go, but he assumed they would get to work quickly.

Thor left not long after, saying he would "show true hell" from now on. Although Kizuna was a bit scared, he decided he should also start training seriously. Kizuna and Thanatos would be the ones to fight Hypnos, not just for revenge, but because of the relation between Thanatos, Hypnos and Eros. For that, Kizuna would also have to get stronger.

Osiris also left not long after, but…

During the second she was passing by him, time seemed to elongate infinitely. Before he noticed, all light was gone, and the only person he could see was Osiris, and nothing else, as if only the two of them existed.

But, before he noticed, there was another figure there. He couldn't make it out clearly, but Kizuna was sure it was the same figure from his dream the other day. He couldn't see who or what it was, but Kizuna was sure of that.

Both Kizuna and Osiris were facing the figure, but could do nothing. They couldn't speak, they couldn't move, they could only watch and listen.

"Your battle will come soon. Your target is no longer in that place, but you two will meet eventually." The figure said that looking at Kizuna, and then moved towards Osiris. "You, remember your duty. Fulfil the role I gave you, and you will get your reward."

Then, time started moving again and everything was back to normal. What was that? Was Kizuna just tired? No, it couldn't be, because Kizuna clearly saw that Osiris didn't seem fine.

"Osiris?"

But, when she turned her face towards him, Osiris looked just fine, as if nothing had happened. This even made Kizuna doubt himself.

"What is it, Kizuna?"

"I-it's just… I… …n-no, it's nothing."

Although something was clearly wrong with Kizuna, Osiris didn't pursue the matter. Almost as if she didn't want to. She then left the room.

Kizuna then noticed Reiri leaving as well. That made him decide to leave what happened just now for later and focus on Reiri. After all, ever since that day Nayuta mistakenly used her powers on Reiri, she and Kizuna had barely talked with each other. His sister was way more important than some illusion or vision.

"Nee-chan, wait."

Reiri almost stopped. She turned and faced Kizuna, but then she turned around again and left the room. Kizuna left after her and was going to go with her, but then he was stopped by someone, Nayuta.

"Kaa-san, didn't you go with Kei and the others?"

"I'll join with them shortly. But I have some stuff I have to tell you before."

"Can't we leave it for later? Right now, I need to talk with nee-chan."

"I know, but it also has to do with Reiri. Come, just listen to me for a few minutes. After that, what you should do should become clear."

Although Kizuna really wanted to go after Reiri, he decided to listen to Nayuta. They went back into the meeting room and talked for a few minutes.

After they finished, Kizuna already knew what to do, but still needed to think about it. That's why he decided to go home for the day and think about what he would do before acting.

After all, no matter what he did, things would change between him and Reiri.


	34. Sister

Just the other day, Nayuta had told something to Kizuna, who wanted to put an end to this strange situation with his sister. Ever since he heard his mother, Kizuna knew what he needed to do, but was still thinking about it for some reason.

Well, they didn't really talk just about Reiri, but the rest was just Nayuta telling Kizuna stuff she found out. What really had him thinking was Reiri.

Thanatos noticed Kizuna wasn't acting like himself for the whole day. Now, it was already night and he was still strange, so she decided to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"What's wrong, Kizuna?"

"A-ah, i-it's nothing really."

Kizuna didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, but Thanatos sat down next to him and then put her hand over his. Then she told him "come on, tell me" and waited for Kizuna to talk.

"W-well, a while back, I discovered that nee-chan, Reiri, held feelings for me. Romantic feelings I mean. I want to reply to her, and that even what kaa-san told me to do, but I can't seem to do it. Whenever I think about confronting her with my feelings, I keep thinking about the people around us and think that it's best to not do this, even though…"

From what Kizuna said, it didn't seem like he himself was against it, but rather that he was worried about the consequences it could bring.

"I see. Well, if that's the case, I think I can help, though it's just what I think."

Hearing that, Kizuna paid careful attention to what Thanatos said next. Even if it were just words, it would already be some help.

"During the time I had my powers, I visited many worlds, each with their own culture. In some, cases like you and your sister would be normal, while in others it would be a grave offence. That being said, no matter where, people always thought about their feelings first."

Thanatos then finished talking with the following:

"Well, basically what I meant to say was, don't hesitate. Don't think about rejecting a person's feelings just because you don't know what the people around you will say. Go and talk with your sister and figure it out together, or reject her not because of others but because of yourself. It's not worth much, but, if you two go through with it, at least I will give my support."

"… That's already plenty, you know. Thanks, Thanatos. I'm glad to be your friend."

Thanatos' face got a bit red after Kizuna called her friend. Once Thanatos noticed Kizuna was heading outside, she asked "where are you going?" and he answered "I'm going to deal with this right now, I've already put this off long enough" then said his goodbyes and left.

Thanatos thought she was all alone now, but then she heard a voice behind her.

"That's quite something, you know. Normally, boss only talks about this kind of thing with me, so for him to be talking about it with you… I guess you two got unexpectedly closer."

It was Gertude. She had been taking a bath, but was apparently already finished and she had a towel wrapped on her body.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but boss doesn't open up to everyone. He wouldn't have been able to say what he just had if you were Aine or Yurishia. It's not that he doesn't trust them, it's just how he is. We got real close during the AU war, so at the time I used to listen to his thoughts like that. It was damn troublesome, but I didn't dislike it and he also listened to me. I had noticed boss wasn't being himself, so I planned to talk with him after taking a bath, but he ended up opening up to you before I finished. I wonder if I'm losing the position of best friend."

Gertude had one-sidedly declared herself as Kizuna's best friend, but if anything, they were really close friends. If told about this and then asked to confirm or deny it, Kizuna probably at least wouldn't deny it.

"… You really think we're friends like that?"

"Even I didn't notice until everyone started teasing me for it. Trust me, at least from boss' perspective, you are an important friend. That said, I'm not losing my damn position to a newbie friend, so you better prepare yourself."

Gertude then took a fighting stance and punched the air a few times. She was just playing around, so Thanatos just laughed at it.

"Well, in any case, thanks for helping boss just now. I was worried I wouldn't be able to help him with whatever it was, but you did it perfectly. A friend of boss is a friend of mine as well, and you're a really good friend, Thanatos."

Gertude then left Thanatos with those words. Thanatos was surprised, but also felt happiness from hearing that.

A good friend… if it was her before she lost her powers, she wouldn't have really cared about this. But right now, she felt happy about it. It's not that she wanted protection or anything. While she had her powers, Thanatos was a mainly solitary existence, but now she was just really happy to be able to count on others and have others count on her.

It didn't take Kizuna long to reach the place Reiri was living at. He remembered the time not long after he had been revived and he came here to tell his sister that he had come back.

Although it might not seem like it, he felt that what he was about to do now was equally important. Ever since the day Nayuta mistakenly used her powers on Reiri, she and Kizuna had barely talked, and Kizuna couldn't stand that anymore.

Kizuna knocked on the door, and Reiri came to open it.

"Kizuna? W-what is it?"

"Nee-chan, I have something important to talk about. Please let me in."

Hearing Kizuna talk like that, Reiri got worried and let him in. If he said straight up what he came to talk about, she probably wouldn't have let him in, that's why Kizuna said it like that.

After they entered, they sat down facing each other. Kizuna then began talking.

"Nee-chan, it's about that day when you were influenced by kaa-san's powers. What you said that day-"

"S-stop it. I was being controlled, so I was just saying nonsense at the time. S-something about me liking you, that couldn't…"

"But, nee-chan, kaa-san told me she wasn't controlling you, but that she just forced out what was already inside. There was also that one time right after I was revived that I slept with you. Nee-chan, tell me the truth."

Reiri kept insisting that it was nothing, but that way they wouldn't stop running in circles, that's why Kizuna decided to bring out everything he had.

"Ever since that day, nee-chan has been avoiding me. I don't want this to go on further. So tell me the truth, nee-chan. If you do have these feelings tell me, and I'll reply with my own, but if you don't have them, then properly deny it. That why, we'll put an end to this."

It was like Reiri had something stuck on her throat, she couldn't speak. But she had to, she couldn't let this chance escape. That's why she put together all the courage she had and then said her feelings clearly.

"I… do, have those feelings. I don't know when or how it happened, but, when you were revived, I just felt like I didn't want to lose you. Until that point, it's just normal, but I began to realize that I wasn't just afraid of you dying. I also didn't want any of these girls to take you from me, so I thought that I could become your woman, but I gave up on that idea. After all, there was no way you could reply to those feelings."

Her gaze wondered off somewhere in the middle of all that. She really did believe that her feelings were just a one-way road.

Kizuna put one of his hands over Reiri's, then used his other hand to make her look his way. It was his turn now.

"To be honest, ever since I was little, I didn't want anyone taking nee-chan from me. I didn't want you to marry anyone, so I thought I'd marry nee-chan. I dismissed that as just something from a child, but… if nee-chan thinks like that, then maybe we should give it a try."

As Reiri was looking at Kizuna, he approached his face, but only halfway. He would let her decide if the other half of the distance would be kept or closed.

"A-are you sure it's fine?"

"Well, I'm already in a relationship with so many girls, so maybe I'm not the right person to say this, but I think we'll only know if it's fine if we try it."

After hearing that, Reiri let all her emotions loose. She closed the distance and kissed Kizuna. If he wasn't going to go against it, why should she?

As their lips pressed on each other, both of them opened their mouths and also let their tongues participate in the kiss. It didn't look like something like this was bothering them until just now.

After a few seconds, they had to stop the kiss to get some air, that's when Kizuna asked.

"Nee-chan, can I spend the night here?"

"Of course."

Later on, Kizuna and Reiri moved to the bedroom. Kizuna laid down Reiri and then looked into her eyes for a few seconds. No words were needed, Reiri nodded and Kizuna knew what he had to do.

Kizuna started unbuttoning Reiri's shirt and then threw it away. He then unzipped her skirt and also got rid of that. He continued until Reiri was left in only her underwear.

But Kizuna didn't take off Reiri's underwear. She lifted her upper body so she could sit on the bed, then, facing Kizuna, she put her hand on the side of his face as she said.

"Kizuna, I really do love you. So much."

She then kissed Kizuna once again. After that ended, she took off her underwear. But maybe she was a little embarrassed, since she covered her body with her hands, even though, for Kizuna, that only increased her sensuality.

"H-hurry up, take yours off too."

"Yes, nee-chan."

Kizuna took off his own clothes in a flash. Unlike Reiri, he wasn't embarrassed and showed his naked body. Kizuna wasn't even embarrassed of the state of his member, nor the fact that it was his sister that made him like this.

Seeing Kizuna like that, Reiri couldn't just keep hiding her body. It's not like it would be Kizuna's first time seeing a woman, or even Reiri herself, naked. She exposed her naked body to him.

"I-it's strange to think this isn't our first time doing something like this."

"At that time in the AU war were we had to do Heart Hybrid, everyone's lives were on the line. But right now, there's no such reason. We're doing it just because we want to."

Kizuna was right. The only thing fueling this was their own feelings, so there's no reason to hold back.

Reiri started by kissing Kizuna's chest. She was moving downwards placing kisses on his body until she reached his crotch area. Once she reached that place, she started licking it from the base until the tip. At the top, she put it in her mouth and then sucked it until she reached the base.

As they had previously said, this wasn't their first time doing this, but this time and that time are fundamentally different. That's why it felt like something completely new.

"A-ah! Nee-chan, it feels good."

Reiri guided Kizuna all the way into her mouth, reaching her throat. Doing something like this with Reiri only made Kizuna grow even more.

But Reiri wasn't planning to continue like that. There was something else she wanted to do and this was just warm-up. Still, she did her best to pleasure Kizuna.

Reiri's mouth was full of her saliva, making Kizuna feel like he was taking a dive in a pool filled with hot water.

After a little more, Reiri took Kizuna out of her mouth. His member was shining and there was a string of saliva connecting Reiri's mouth to Kizuna's thing.

"Now we're going to begin for real."

Right after saying that, Reiri put Kizuna's member between her breasts. Kizuna's wet rod was easy able to move between Reiri's big breasts.

Reiri started moving her breasts up and down. She felt so soft, it was like she was embracing Kizuna. A low wet noise was produced with every movement, but that noise was drowned by Kizuna and Reiri's moans.

"Nn! Kizuna, you like it like this, right?"

"Y-yeah. I'm surprised nee-chan still remembers stuff from that time."

"W-well, I spend a lot of time thinking about it. I still do."

Previously, when they had to do Heart Hybrid, Kizuna taught Reiri a few things he said he liked, and it seems like she still remembers those things. Just as Reiri had said, she still thought about that time, the wet stain under her was proof of that.

Although some of her movements were still a bit awkward, Reiri was slowly giving in and just letting her feelings tell her what to do. Kizuna had already done so, and was just waiting until his feelings shot out.

"Nee-chan, I'm almost there."

"In that case…"

Reiri pressed her breasts even more. She was trying to completely cover Kizuna. The only thing that was visible before was the tip, but now that was also buried in Reiri's chest.

The wet sounds got louder, and that's when Kizuna and Reiri finally took notice of them.

"This sounds so lewd, but, for some reason, I don't dislike it. Kizuna, I think I might turn into a pervert."

"Even if that happens, I'll still love nee-chan the same."

Kizuna could feel it. He was about to shoot his load. After he did that, there would be no more turning back on their relationship.

But none of them wanted to turn back. Kizuna and Reiri wanted each other not as just siblings, but also as members of the opposite sex. They wanted to go further, so Kizuna would give his seed to Reiri and she would take it.

"Nee-chan, I'm about to cum."

"It's fine. Just let everything out."

And then, Kizuna came. He exploded between Reiri's breasts, covering her white skin with his white seed. After she let him free, they could see just how much of his seed was there between her breasts.

They stopped to take a breather for a second, but also to think about what had just happened. From now on, they wouldn't just be siblings, they would also be lovers.

And Reiri's reaction to that was: she laid down on the bed, opened her legs and used her fingers to spread the lips of her important place. Then, she called for Kizuna.

"Kizuna, please~"

Seeing Reiri's figure like that, there was no way Kizuna could resist. He really wanted to do it right now, but…

He felt like it would be some kind of betrayal towards Aine and the others. He couldn't just do something like this without telling them first. He knew that they wouldn't mind this as long as the feelings of Reiri and Kizuna are real, but that doesn't mean he could do whatever he pleased. Or at least that's what Kizuna thought, he basically didn't want to do something so important behind their backs.

But still, he couldn't just forget Reiri's and his own lust and feelings. That's why…

"Sorry, nee-chan. But I don't think it's right for us to just go behind everyone's backs like this, but there is something we can do."

After Kizuna properly explained why he thought they shouldn't have sex at that moment and also what they could do instead, Reiri agreed and gave Kizuna permission.

Reiri turned around, her butt was now facing Kizuna. He grabbed that big ass and then readied his member before he started pushing it in her back hole.

"Nn~! K-Kizuna~"

"Nee-chan, almost."

This is similar to what happened between Kizuna and Nayuta after Hypnos took her powers. There was a little bit of distance he could push in before it was considered sex, and Kizuna was now taking advantage of that.

At that time with Nayuta, Kizuna didn't go much farther than the tip, but now, he put about half his length in Reiri. That was the difference between doing it out of necessity and doing it out of lust.

Actually, Kizuna wanted to go all the way in, but he just said why they shouldn't have sex right now, so it wouldn't make sense to do it anyway even though both really wanted to.

"A-aaann!"

Apparently, just Kizuna putting that much in was already feeling too good for Reiri. Her special place started letting out its juices as if it was drooling.

"Nee-chan is already like this?"

"S-shut up! It's because I had been thinking about something like this for so long, so now it's like, nnn!"

It was good to see that Reiri was recovering her sharp tongue, but that's not the voice Kizuna wanted her to make right now.

He pulled back and then pushed back in, of course, those were only light movements since he still had to keep things under control. But, considering how this part of his life was progressing, Kizuna thought it wouldn't be long before he wouldn't be able to hold back. But for now he could.

Kizuna didn't bet on just these light movements. He also used one of his hands to play with Reiri's special place and the other one to play with her breast. Reiri was unable to keep her voice down.

"Aaan! Mmh! Nn!"

Reiri's back hole made way for Kizuna to enter again every time he left. He felt as if it was begging for him to stay and go deeper, but, as said before, Kizuna had to keep things under control.

Reiri's body was strangely sensitive, she had already climaxed without him making much effort. Kizuna remembered from the time they did Heart Hybrid that she wasn't like this. He guessed it was because this was finally real and not something she was just imagining.

In other words, for tonight only Reiri would be extra sensitive, and Kizuna planned to make the most out of that. He wanted to show her the heavens.

"Aamm! K-Kizuna, what are you-?"

"I want nee-chan to feel really good."

Kizuna pinched Reiri's nipple and the same time he pinched her clit. Reiri reflexively closed her legs, but that didn't matter at that point.

Reiri had already been made to climax many times, and Kizuna was getting close again.

"Mm! Nee-chan, soon, I'll cum again."

But Kizuna wasn't going to make this easy for Reiri. He would hold on until he couldn't anymore.

Reiri looked Kizuna's way, and he took that chance to kiss her. Their tongues danced with one another as they continued using their bodies to pleasure the other.

Reiri's place was already soaking wet, and the bedsheet under her were already stained beyond repair, but none of that mattered. Neither she nor Kizuna felt like stopping.

"Aaa! Kizuna! I love you, I love you!"

Kizuna had already heard Reiri say or imply this a lot of times, but most of them she was under some sort of influence. Times were she just voiced out her feelings like this, he had only heard it twice. Earlier just now, and right now.

So Kizuna had to respond appropriately.

"I also love nee-chan. I won't let anyone take you from me."

Soon, it was coming. Kizuna quickened his movements, causing Reiri to climax again before he reached his own climax.

He pulled out before he shot his load. Once he did, it hit Reiri's back and hair. While the back wasn't much of a problem, it would certainly be troublesome to wash it off the hair. But she would only think about it after they were done.

After he finished, Kizuna laid down beside Reiri. They shared another kiss before they continued. The next time, their heads were facing their nether regions and they both drank the other's climax.

Reiri then used her hands to pleasure Kizuna while he pleasured her just by groping her. They wanted to make up for lost time, so they did everything they could think of. They continued until the night turned into day.

The following day, the first thing they say was each other's face, and how much of a mess they had made. But, even so, their reaction was just to give a "good morning" to the other, kiss, wash themselves and then continue with their day.

From now on, Kizuna would have one more lover, but that was fine. As long as the feelings were real, the number didn't matter. Of course, he and Reiri properly talked with the other girls once they had the chance, things went fine for the most part.

While his normal life was going great, what would follow on the next few days was the end of the fight with Hypnos.


	35. Note 4

**Hey, end of batch 4. This one didn't have as much plot put into it since I wanted to tie some loose ends before we finished the Hypnos part.**

 **One of my objectives with this batch was to deepen the relationship between Thanatos and Kizuna. How it happened was kinda like a reflection on myself.**

 **I was thinking "what kind of event could I make happen that would have Kizuna and Thanatos quickly bond with each other?" and I kept thinking and thinking, until I came to the conclusion that it's a lot easier to let time take care of deepening their friendship. It's similar to how you make friends in class, you don't bond with them through some world-ending event, you just talk almost every day for a long period of time, which naturally brings you closer to the other person.**

 **That's why I had Kizuna try playing a game and dressing Thanatos before she herself suggested they just talked for a while. I even tried giving Thanatos a role I would have normally given to Gertude near the end of the batch, so I'll be happy if it did feel like Kizuna and Thanatos got closer.**

 **The other thing I wanted to take care of was Reiri. Originally, I was going to do that in batch 3, but then Thor took up basically all of that, so it had to be delayed. I think the spacement of basically a little bit of development each batch might have softened the impact I wanted to give, but I think I was able to transmit their feelings pretty well.**

 **Once again, there's not much for me to talk about since not much happened in this batch. There was Yurishia and Sylvia's scene at the beginning.**

 **I didn't really need to write that, but I wanted to and it'll also help with consistency, you know. I'll need everyone in top shape for Hypnos next batch, so I figured that instead of "they rested for long enough so they recovered their strength" I went with "they did Connective Hybrid to recover their strength". I had also thought about doing it for Aine and Hayuru, but they didn't use too much energy against Thor, so I couldn't shove them in.**

 **Also, that chapter also gave Sylvia her reward for the fight with Thor. It's not like there will be one reward per batch (next one for example won't have any). Yurishia and Hayuru already have their stuff reserved for after I'm done with Hypnos. But, about Sylvia's reward, it was for Kizuna to see her as a woman. It was something that I noticed that Kizuna, until now, didn't really see Sylvia as a member of the opposite sex, someone who could become his lover, so I thought it was a good opportunity to do that.**

 **And yeah… next batch should be the end of the Hypnos part of the story. I'll try to come out with it still in April (month I'm posting this) since it's kinda short (like, real short. As in, I thought about fusing it with this batch short) and then after that… well…**

 **Let's just say it's not the end of the story. … I mean, it is. If you came here to see this Hypnos story, then it absolutely is, but there is stuff after that. There would be some changes with how I post stuff, but I'll get to that next note.**

 **But, for now, I've extended this enough. Sorry if this batch was boring, thanks for making through it (unless you skipped to here, but why do that?) and I'll see you at the end that's kinda the end, but not THE end.**


	36. Day Before The Battle

It has been a week since Nayuta started looking for Hypnos with the help of the other goddesses. After telling Kizuna and the others in the command room, she explained it to everyone else.

While it was good to know that this fight was going to end, that also meant everyone would have to do their best so it ended well. So everyone spend this last week preparing as they saw fit.

Right now, Kizuna was participating in a mock battle against Thor along with the girls from Quartum and Gertude. Even though it was 6 vs 1, things weren't looking good for them.

"At this rate, we might as well give up right now."

Thor said as he dodged all the incoming attacks. Kizuna got closer and tried to engage Thor in hand to hand combat, but…

Thor easily dodged all of Kizuna's attacks. Even so, Kizuna didn't let up and was quickening his attacks more and more.

While the girls from Quartum were stunned by what they were seeing, Gertude mainly ignored it as she continued firing. Her bullets might have been like a bug sting for Thor, but if she could at least create an opening, then-

"This is getting a little irritating."

"I know, that's why I'm doing it damn it!"

"Ger-san, keep it up!"

"Roger that, boss. But don't use that damn nickname!"

Quartum couldn't just keep looking while doing nothing. Ramza was the first to act, using her powers over fire to cover her tomahawk with that element, she tried to hit Thor from behind. Of course, Thor was able to dodge, but now he had to worry about both Kizuna and Ramza.

Except, the other members of Quartum soon joined as well. Clayda used her sword to become Thor's third close quarters opponent, then Elma used her hammer's ability to reverse cause and effect to break Thor's defense, creating an opening that was taken by Lunora with her twin swords.

While it was a good display of teamwork, it wasn't enough.

"Still too weak!"

Thor used some lightning to clear some space between himself and his opponents. Kizuna was able to dodge it, but the members of Quartum weren't able to and had to take that attack.

"S-shit, he's just too strong."

"The gods are cheating!"

"… Heh, so now something on this level isn't enough to knock you all out anymore? Good."

While Thor was distracted, Kizuna came close once again. But this time, the attack came from Thor. It was a punch, Kizuna tried to defend it using his hands.

"… Hoh."

Actually, Kizuna didn't try to defend, he was able to do it. Thor didn't know how, but Kizuna was able to hold one of his punches. Well, Thor wasn't using all his power, but it was still the first time he had seen someone here do it.

In that opening, Gertude charged her pistols and shot at Thor. The bug sting became more like a thrown ball. It wasn't enough to really damage Thor, but it made him lose his footing for a split second.

At that split second, the members of Quartum came in from all four sides. They aimed their weapons at Thor's neck, stopping just before hitting it, as if declaring their victory.

"Don't you think this is your win, I've only been playing around. That said, I'll give you guys a pass today since I'm happy to see some growth."

And so ended the mock battle. After it was done, Thor came to talk with Kizuna.

"What was that? From what I felt, you didn't just hold my punch, you did something. What was it?"

"Well…"

"You haven't been the only one teaching them stuff, you know."

Osiris then appeared as if out of thin air. Thor guessed she wouldn't explain what she had taught Kizuna, and while he was curious, it wasn't something he needed to know.

"Kizuna, can you come with me for a bit?"

"Sure."

Kizuna then went off with Osiris.

/

Thanatos was in the building functioning as a research and engineering department, the place where her new mechanical arms were created.

She had those arms equipped on her. The team was doing some maintenance and other stuff in Thanatos mechanical arms to make sure they were ready for combat.

"H-hum…"

Thanatos had the impression the girl beside her, Momo if she recalled correctly, wanted to say something. So Thanatos voiced out.

"It's fine to talk with me normally, you know. Right now, I'm not much different from you."

"A-ah, s-sorry. Then…"

Apparently, that really was what was stopping Momo from talking. It was understandable. Thanatos had been the strongest goddess but was now forced to work with humans to survive. One could arrive at the conclusion that she thought of it as a humiliation, but it wasn't the case at all.

"Ah,hahaha. I was going to make a joke saying you wouldn't even miss your powers once you got used to these babies, but then I thought you might have been offended so I wasn't going to say it."

"I see" Thanatos then started laughing. It wasn't a good joke, but she knew Momo had good intentions, so it wouldn't hurt to laugh a bit. It's not like it was forced anyway.

Thanatos had gotten to know Momo from the times she came here to help make and maintain these new mechanical arms. She had also heard some stuff about her from Kizuna, like how she treated the things she created as "her babies", while Kizuna himself found it eccentric but also nice, Thanatos found it an interesting characteristic, and it reminded her of the woman who created both her and Hypnos.

"If I'm going to be honest, I won't say that I don't miss my powers, but I've learned to live without them. I don't know if I would be able to go back to living the way I did while I had my powers."

While she was still the strongest goddess, Thanatos kept looking for a reason or purpose for her life. Ironically, once she lost her powers and got to see the woman who created her, she discovered she didn't need something like that.

"A-ah, sorry, for making you think about something like that."

"I don't mind it."

Once the team finished working on Thanatos' mechanical arms, she transformed them back to their blue diamond shaped collar form.

After that, she took Momo's hand in a handshake. While it surprised Momo, she wasn't against it. Then, Thanatos said.

"Momo, is it? You don't really have to think of me as a goddess anymore, of course, that also goes for everyone else. Since I might live in your world for a while, I'd be happy if we could all be friends."

"Ah, sure. If you're going to live there, we'll show you to all kinds of places and things, so just you wait."

After that, Thanatos said she had to go somewhere, so she left that place.

/

Kizuna and Osiris had already finished what they were doing. Osiris went on ahead and Kizuna headed to a certain place right after.

The place both of them had to go to was the command room. Tonight, something very important would be discussed.

Kizuna said they should go together, but Osiris said there was something she wanted to do before the meeting, so she went on ahead. Kizuna wanted to take that chance to talk with her about the illusion they both saw (or at least that's what he thinks) but he guessed it could be left for some other time.

Then, on his way to the command room, Kizuna ended up meeting with Thanatos.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Without even as much as asking, they started walking together as if it was only natural. They had grown a lot closer these past weeks.

"So, what were you doing?"

"Some last checks on the arms. And you?"

"I training with Thor for a while and then practice with Osiris."

Then, silence fell between them. It was like there was nothing to talk about. And then they both started laughing.

There was nothing for them to talk about, but that's because, over the last weeks, they had talked so much there was simply nothing left. But that wasn't a bad thing. If anything, it symbolized how much closer they had gotten.

Then, in that silence, they entered the command room. The usual members of Nayuta, Reiri, Kei, Thor, Odin and Hokuto were already there. Osiris arrived not long after Kizuna and Thanatos.

Things had gotten much better after he finally came clean with his sister, so now Reiri properly looked at Kizuna, just like everyone else, as he entered the room. Just as Kizuna thought, this was much better than them being awkward around each other.

"Well, everyone is finally here. Then, let's start this strategy meeting. The strategy for how we're going to fight Hypnos."

Just as Nayuta had said, these members were there to think of the best strategy to battle with Hypnos. Of course, it wasn't just about the combat. They knew Hypnos would be waiting for them, so they would be ready for him.

And so they started the strategy meeting. Soon, the final battle would start.


	37. Thanatos

Even before the strategy meeting, there was one thing that was already decided. Or rather, there was no way to avoid it.

They would need Thanatos' cooperation, and Thanatos herself wanted to fight Hypnos. However, as she was right now, she wasn't much stronger than any woman you could find on the streets.

But the solution to that problem was already well known. Kizuna merely needed to use his Eros' Heart Hybrid ability to temporarily increase the little bit of power left in Thanatos, allowing her to reclaim some of her previous power even if just for one fight.

That is one of the reasons why Thanatos suggested to Kizuna that they should try to get closer, but that's beside the point.

Rather than in the Love Room, this Heart Hybrid would be done in the place Kizuna and Thanatos were living. Gertude, their other housemate, would spend the night somewhere else for that night.

Both Kizuna and Thanatos had already taken a bath and were ready to start the Heart Hybrid. They were both in the bedroom and were sitting on top of the bed.

"… You know, if you had said you wanted to do it, I wouldn't have minded it."

"A-ah. But I don't think it's something we should do lightly. Just a normal Heart Hybrid should be fine."

What they were talking about was something Nayuta had told Kizuna at the same time she had been talking with him about Reiri, and then later explained to everyone in the strategy meeting.

Eros' abilities weren't limited to just Heart Hybrid. They already knew about stuff like Climax Hybrid, Connective Hybrid, Kisscharge Hybrid and such, but Nayuta discovered one more type of hybrid.

She called it Ecstasy Hybrid. Just like how Climax Hybrid was an evolution of Heart Hybrid, this was an even further evolution. Nayuta said that, doing Ecstasy Hybrid, it should be possible to get Thanatos back to 100% or very close to it for a limited time, but there was a catch.

Unlike the other hybrids, which could be successfully done with just foreplay, Ecstasy Hybrid required Kizuna to have sex with his partner for the hybrid. It was by far the strongest hybrid, but…

"I understand, but I don't think we should do it."

Kizuna voiced out during the strategy meeting and everyone looked at him, including Thanatos herself.

"Ah, don't misunderstand. I understand it would be better than any other hybrid and, as a man, I don't have any problems doing it with Thanatos, but I don't think we should do it just because of that."

Odin sighted and then said "if it was me instead of Thanatos, we'd just have sex and be done with everything. But anyway, what do you think, Thanatos?"

"W-well… I don't think Kizuna is wrong. If we did something like that on a whim, maybe we'd come to regret it later, o-or something like that."

Now it was Nayuta's turn to sigh and say "then, there's no point in forcing you two" to which Osiris followed with:

"I also agree with Kizuna and Thanatos, though it's not like it really concerns me. In any case, something on the level of a Heart Hybrid or Climax Hybrid should suffice, right? They'll be fighting together. There's no need to force them."

Thor then said "this is the first time I've seen a man reject the opportunity to have sex with a beautiful woman, but I'll say I appreciate the integrity. If you two had sex just to win a fight you'd probably regret it later" while Reiri and Kei just kept silent, but nodded in agreement.

That was how the idea of doing Ecstasy Hybrid was discarded and they opted for a normal Heart Hybrid instead.

"T-then, should we begin?"

"Y-yeah."

Kizuna didn't know why he was so nervous. It's not like it was his first time doing this, much less with a beautiful female. But even so, Kizuna was so nervous it was getting to Thanatos.

To try to calm himself, Kizuna started taking off his clothes until he left only his underwear on. He did that because that's how the Heart Hybrids usually went, but he then remembered it wouldn't be like that this time. Aine and the others made Kizuna badly accustomed!

But it did do something good. Seeing Kizuna in a half-naked state, Thanatos took the initiative.

"I-I guess I also have to take mine off."

Thanatos started taking off her dress. She did it slowly out of embarrassment, but to Kizuna it looked more like she was trying to seduce him.

Once she was done, she put her dress over where Kizuna put his clothes. Kizuna then got to take a good look at Thanatos in her underwear.

Both her panties and bra were pure white, but their design had a strange sex appeal to them. Even though Kizuna had caught even if just a glimpse of naked Thanatos at that time he happened to enter the bath when she was in, this look of hers made his heart skip a beat.

"I-I had already imagined we'd have to get like this, so I wore these just in case. It's not weird, right?"

"E-eh? N-no, it's fine."

Kizuna was still processing Thanatos' beauty. Sure, Aine, Hayuru, Yurishia, Grace, and all the others were beautiful in their own way, but Thanatos really did have a beauty that was worth being called a goddess, though Kizuna felt like the others wouldn't lose if they were to compete.

As a healthy male, Kizuna couldn't help but get excited. But Kizuna had to calm himself. His relationship with Thanatos was still new, but most of all he didn't want to damage it. But if she wanted to… no no, Kizuna had to calm down and get rid of such thoughts.

"Thanatos, I'm going to touch you. Is that ok?"

Thanatos nodded, so Kizuna started the Heart Hybrid.

He faked Thanatos out by making it seem like he was going to touch her breasts, but then moved his hands to her arms. Her skin was like silk and her arms were thin to the point Kizuna felt like he could snap them in half in he wasn't careful, but there was also some strange sexiness just from the situation they were in.

Then, Kizuna moved to Thanatos' thighs. She had plump thighs that made Kizuna want to use them as pillows. Thanatos voluntarily opened her legs after a few seconds, which allowed Kizuna to move to her inner thighs.

Kizuna massaged Thanatos' inner thighs. His fingers got close to her nether region, but never touched it. Thanatos was thinking that it was because Kizuna wanted to betray her expectations (which she didn't dislike), but actually Kizuna was just surprisingly nervous. It was like he regressed back to the time before he met Aine.

"Nn~ y-you're quite good. I guess it's only as expected."

"I've barely even started."

Kizuna then placed one hand on top of Thanatos' stomach, his other hand continued on her thigh. Kizuna played with Thanatos' belly button and also moved his hand close to her breasts and intimate place. In fact, at times, Kizuna even felt his fingers brush against a bush or lift Thanatos' breasts just a bit.

But of course, they couldn't stay like that forever. There was one line they had to cross if they hoped to make this Heart Hybrid a success.

Kizuna grabbed Thanatos' big breasts. She was still wearing her bra, but he could tell just how good they felt even like that.

"Thanatos, if you want me to stop, just say so."

"Mm, ok. But right now, I want you to keep going."

Kizuna groped Thanatos' breasts. They felt soft and nice to touch. They changed shapes like dough when Kizuna used his strength, but went back to their round shape as soon as he let go.

They might not be the biggest Kizuna had ever seen, but they were certainly amongst the top when feeling was concerned.

"Mm,nn~ K-Kizuna, I feel something coming."

If Kizuna could look bellow Thanatos right now, he would see a natural reaction forming. But even without that, Kizuna was starting to have trouble to hold back. Could it be the hybrid's side-effects already?

Kizuna started being more rough, but not to the point where Thanatos disliked it. In fact, she was moaning even louder now. As Kizuna kept massaging Thanatos' breasts and trying to tease her nipples through the bra, Kizuna placed kisses on Thanatos' neck bone.

"Mmm! Aaaa~ I-I-!"

Kizuna moved up as he kept placing kisses on Thanatos. He got to the point where he kissed her lower lip, but didn't let it evolve into a proper kiss. Well, it would be a good idea to do a Kisscharge Hybrid before the battle, so it's not like they wouldn't kiss sooner or later. Actually, they had already kissed once when Hypnos send the shadow gods, didn't they?

As Kizuna sucked on Thanatos' lower lip, Thanatos took that chance to suck on Kizuna's upper lip. From how she acted, Kizuna guessed she really wanted to kiss. Maybe she unexpectedly liked do kiss?

After sucking on Thanatos' lower lip, Kizuna plunged his face into her chest. Like that, he could use his mouth and tongue to play with those big things. Meanwhile, his hands let go of Thanatos' breasts and moved to her back.

He traced her backbone until her butt crack. Once there, Kizuna made a surprise attack to Thanatos' butt by grabbing and massaging them.

Thanatos couldn't resist the surprise attack and gave in.

"Aaaan! Mmmhh~!"

While Thanatos was tasting climax, they received confirmation of the Heart Hybrid's success. There was the usual lightshow, but also something new. Thanatos' pupils shined with a golden light while Kizuna's shined with a purple one.

If this was an Ecstasy Hybrid, they could say they were done right now. However, this was just a Heart Hybrid, so this was only the beginning.

After he waited for Thanatos to be done, Kizuna moved behind her. He thought about asking, but Thanatos beat him by offering first.

"Kizuna, help me take them off."

She said as she moved her golden hair from her back to the front. Kizuna didn't even have to ask what she meant. He unhooked her bra and she took it off. Kizuna then was unable to control himself and hugged Thanatos from behind by grabbing her bare breasts.

"Aahn~ Kizuna~"

"S-sorry. My head is a bit light. Is it the hybrid's side-effects? I've never felt them this strong. I'll stop-"

"No, you can keep going."

Hearing that, maybe something snapped inside Kizuna. He gave in to himself.

Kizuna groped Thanatos' naked breasts. They felt so nice to touch, he even teased the pink nipples. He couldn't see them because her hair was in the way, but that only made him more aroused.

Kizuna didn't mean it, but his hard part was rubbing against Thanatos' back. But she didn't dislike it, she was actually enjoying it. Just as Thanatos had said before, she wouldn't have minded it even if Kizuna said he wanted to do more than just Heart Hybrid.

Kizuna still had his boxers and Thanatos still had her panties. Maybe it felt unnatural to keep them on, but neither Thanatos nor Kizuna felt like it would be right to take them off. There was no need to, and they both didn't feel like their relationship was like that.

"Mmn~ Kizuna, like that~"

"Here?"

Although Kizuna had many sexual experiences until now, he still had to discover what Thanatos liked and disliked. How she liked to be touched, how strong, where. They were both having fun finding that out.

The more Kizuna played with Thanatos' breasts, the more her hair got out of the way and exposed them. Once Kizuna saw the white skin and pink nipples, he lost himself a bit more and launched an attack to Thanato's neck.

"Nn! You're going to leave a mark."

Kizuna kissed the back of Thanatos' neck. He sucked on it as if leaving his mark was his intention. Of course, he didn't stop his hands. Being attacked in two placed was making Thanatos approach climax once again.

Kizuna was still unknowingly using his hard part against Thanatos. If he didn't keep his underwear on, Kizuna was sure he would have already shot his load.

So, while he still had even just a little bit of his mind left, he had to make Thanatos climax.

"Kizu,naaaaa!"

The already soaked panties gave up and let Thanatos' juices through. Even the bed sheets could barely handle them.

Another Heart Hybrid was successful. However, this time Thanatos didn't waste a second and pushed Kizuna down. On her eyes, he could see she was taken by the hybrid's side-effects, much like himself.

"Kizuna~ I want more."

Thanatos said as she kept kissing Kizuna's face. Now that she was taken by lust, her voice was sweeter than honey. And, going by the amounts of kisses she was giving, Kizuna felt like it was safe to assume Thanatos liked to kiss.

She kept kissing Kizuna all over his body. She kept going down on his body, kissing his chest and abdomen. She was getting dangerously close to his lower body, so Kizuna had to stop her.

If it was Kizuna right now he wouldn't think twice about doing Ecstasy Hybrid. He wanted to keep kissing Thanatos as entered her special place and took them both to the heavens. This was by far the strongest Kizuna had ever felt the hybrid's side-effects. However, even if just a tiny spec of Kizuna's mind remained, so he was able to stop Thanatos.

"Wait, I have a better idea."

Thanatos stopped what she was doing and looked at Kizuna. Thanatos' mind was just as blank as Kizuna, so she would do anything if she was told it felt good, just like Kizuna. The difference was that Kizuna was able to resist even if just a little. Kizuna told her where to stay, so she did.

Thanatos's breasts were on top of Kizuna's face. He didn't lose a second to start sucking and licking on them. It couldn't be said he looked like a baby, he really just seemed like a pervert sucking on her breasts.

"Aaah! Kizuna!"

Thanatos moaned as Kizuna kept up his mouth services. Not just sucking and licking, he also bit and teased Thanatos' breasts and nipples to his heart's content.

Kizuna also used his hand on Thanatos' lower body. Even he didn't notice, but he put his hands inside Thanatos' panties so that he could touch her directly.

He played with her big ass and even got close to touching places he shouldn't. Her breasts were also sending waves of pleasure to her brain.

Under the hybrid's side-effects and still a little sensitive from the climax just now, Thanatos was nearing her third climax.

"Mmh! Kizuna, I feel like my head is going to go blank."

But even Kizuna was too far gone to care about that. He just kept doing what he was doing, and it all soon paid off. Another Heart Hybrid was successfully completed, or maybe this was already in the realm of Climax Hybrid.

"Aaaaaaaa!"

This time, there were enough juices to wet not only Thanatos herself, but even Kizuna under her. Both Kizuna's trousers and Thanatos' panties were so wet they couldn't be worn anymore.

Would this be any other scenario, they would just take these off. But, as things were right now, they chose to keep them on.

Then, they waited until Thanatos recovered and also until the hybrid's side-effects wore off. If they just kept going, they would end up having sex right then and there, so they took a breather.

After they were both ready, they did even more Heart and Climax Hybrids, even to the point where they cut it close sometimes.

Then, well deep into the night, they decided to rest so that they could battle Hypnos on the day after. Maybe still a little drunk under the hybrid's side-effects, Thanatos gave Kizuna a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night. It was great."

"T-thanks? Good night to you as well."

Kizuna decided to play along and also kissed Thanatos' cheek. She thought he didn't see it, but Kizuna noticed Thanatos' face getting redder.

Then, they went to sleep so they could fight another day.


	38. Battle Start

As soon as the day broke in, they started to prepare to attack Hypnos. They had to do it while Thanatos was still under the effects of the Heart Hybrid.

Everyone was preparing themselves as they saw fit. Kizuna had already talked with Aine and the others and was preparing himself when he was called by Osiris, so he went to meet her.

"Hey. I thought you'd be with Yurishia."

"I was, but there was something I had to check with you before the fight."

Kizuna was curious, he didn't know what was that Osiris wanted to check with him, but knowing her it should be something important.

Osiris started touching Kizuna's body, checking every part of it. Kizuna was feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but Osiris said that it was important, so he bared with it.

"… This should work. Thanks for staying put, Kizuna."

"A-ah, no problem, though I didn't really do anything. Anyway, what were you doing?"

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, for being a good boy, you deserve a reward."

Then, almost as if teasing Kizuna, Osiris pressed her body on his and placed a kiss on Kizuna's cheek. Not just one side, Osiris kissed both his cheeks.

Kizuna was stunned by what Osiris was doing. Since her clothes didn't cover a lot, Kizuna almost felt like he was touching her naked body. Once she was done, Osiris separated their bodies.

"W-what was that?"

"It was just a good luck kiss for you battle. Well, we should get going now."

Kizuna really didn't understood what just happened. Maybe Osiris was just trying to be a little playful?

Kizuna remembered something, that illusion he saw with Osiris. Kizuna figured now was just as good of a time to ask about it as any other. She had already turned around to leave, so Kizuna tried reaching his hand.

"Wait, Osiris…"

The thing was, they still weren't far apart from each other, so when Kizuna tried raising his hand, it ended up getting caught in the cloth that was the sole thing covering Osiris' lower body.

Even if just for a second, Osiris' naked butt became visible to Kizuna. As soon as noticed Kizuna took back his hand and Osiris used her own hands to cover herself. It was just for a slip second, but Kizuna felt like that image was burned into his brain.

"I-I guess I'm not married anymore, but you still shouldn't do something like that to a girl, Kizuna."

"S-sorry, I really didn't mean it."

Osiris knew Kizuna didn't have any ill intentions, so she was really just teasing him. Because of what happened, Kizuna forgot about what he was going to do and ended up wasting that chance to ask Osiris.

'W-well, it's not really important, so I'll leave it for some other chance' Kizuna thought.

Then, Kizuna went to finish his preparations. He put on his pilot suit and was just waiting for Thanatos now.

Unlike Kizuna, Thanatos didn't have any special suit for battle, so she just wore the same white dress she wore when she met Kizuna.

"Ready?"

Thanatos nodded. She and Kizuna went to the place where the others were waiting.

Thor, Odin and Nayuta were the ones waiting for them. No, actually, Hokuto was there as well. She approached Kizuna and then said.

"Well, I'd feel bad if I just sat here doing nothing, so at the very least I'll lend you this."

She manifested her sword and handed it to Kizuna. Considering how little power she had left, even doing just that should be a strain. That's why Kizuna took the sword saying "thanks" and then saw Hokuto off to where the non-combatants would stay during the fight. Hokuto had just used up all her power to give that sword to Kizuna, so he would put it to good use.

"Everyone here already knows the strategy, so I'm just here to see you off. Everyone ready?"

Thor, Kizuna, Thanatos and Odin nodded to Nayuta's words. These were the members that would head off.

Kizuna equipped his Eros and Thanatos her new arms. Thor and Odin didn't need any special preparation. Once they were ready, the four of them took off and left that settlement-world.

They had already gotten Hypnos' location and did a little something to make sure they wouldn't lose the way. Thor and Odin stopped on the middle of the way and then said.

"This is our post, we'll leave Hypnos to you two."

"Get him good for me as well."

And so Thor and Odin saw Kizuna and Thanatos off.

It didn't take long for them to reach the lab Hypnos used as a hideout. As soon as they landed, they proceeded to the next step in their plans.

Kizuna put his arm around Thanatos' waist and then pulled her closer. That was unneeded, but, maybe because of Osiris, Kizuna felt like playing around even at a time like this. That surprised Thanatos and Kizuna stole her lips like that.

"Nnh."

"Chuu."

Kizuna had a good reason for doing that. Doing a Kisscharge Hybrid before the battle was part of their plan. There was nothing to gain from a prolonged battle, so it's best to go all out from the start.

"J-jeez, you made my heart skip a beat."

"Haha, sorry."

Although Thanatos was complaining, she didn't really dislike it. In fact, Kizuna learned during their Heart Hybrid that Thanatos really liked to kiss. A lot at that.

As soon as Kizuna and Thanatos properly entered the lab, Hypnos was there waiting for them. And behind him, an uncountable number of shadow gods.

"Yo."

Hypnos did a gesture with his hand, and then all the shadow gods started rushing out ignoring Kizuna and Thanatos. But they already expected this, so they did nothing.

"Hoh, no reaction. You know, even if you beat me, a lot of people will still die. You both gonna let that happen? I'd run after them if I were one of you two."

"No, that's not what's going to happen."

"Because we'll believe in the others."

Thanatos completed Kizuna's sentence. They weren't just saying that to show off, that really was the truth.

"I guess your friends can protect themselves and all, but that's about it. It's a shame I send these lots to attack any world they could. Guess random lives don't matter that much to you all."

After hearing Hypnos, Kizuna and Thanatos just showed smiles as if they just heard a joke. Hypnos didn't like that, but it didn't matter.

"Let's get this started."

Hypnos aura started growing. Kizuna prepared Hokuto's sword and Thanatos also readied her mechanical arms.

And so the fight began.


	39. Battle 1

The shadow gods started rushing out from the lab Hypnos used as a hideout. They started spreading in all directions, and Thor and Odin just watched them.

"Should be any time now."

Not long after Odin said that, the shadow gods apparently hit something invisible. No matter how much they tried to, the shadow gods couldn't go past a certain point.

That, of course, was part of the strategy Nayuta and the others had made.

"Surely, Hypnos won't fight fair. We can expect him to use the shadow gods for something like attacking this place or some random world."

Nayuta said in the strategy meeting. That was something they had to plan for.

"I think I have an idea. It might be possible to create a "tunnel" from this place to where Hypnos is. That would make sure Kizuna and Thanatos didn't get lost while heading for him and it would also make it so that the shadow gods could only come to this place, so we could fight against them without worries."

Osiris made that proposal. Nayuta asked if she could really do it and Osiris said she could. Nayuta, as well as Odin, Thor, and all the other gods there knew it wasn't an easy feat even for someone with that kind of power, but if the person herself said she was capable of it, then they wouldn't doubt her.

"Then, I think me and Thor should go with Kizuna and Thanatos part of the way. We could hold a number of shadow gods back, and the few that would pass would be taken care by Osiris and whoever's left here."

Certainly, that would make fighting a lot easier when the shadow gods arrived in this place. It would be their chance to have a revenge match.

"Alright then, next…"

The strategy meeting continued on.

Going back to the fight, once the shadow gods noticed they couldn't hope to pass the "tunnel" Osiris had made, they decided to rush for the place they knew they could go to, towards Odin and Thor.

"Here they come. You ready, son?"

"Oh shut up. Just try to not get in my way."

Before the shadow gods reached them, Thor and Odin readied themselves. Odin summoned Gungnir and Thor shot lightning at the shadow gods.

Due to Thor's power, some shadow gods were killed by his lighting strike. Once they got in range, Odin also used her spear to attack. Her power was currently lower than Thor's, as some of her power was taken by Hypnos, but she was still able to deal considerable damage.

Occasionally, some shadow gods managed to slip past the mother-son duo, but they didn't mind that. The ones that made it pass them would have to deal with Osiris and the others.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Have you finally gone crazy?"

"No, not yet. I'm just happy to be able to enjoy a battle with my son again. Come here, lemme give you a hug."

In the middle of the battle, Odin stopped fighting and hugged Thor. She buried his face on her abundant chest. Thor was shooting lightning when she did that, but it ended up working for the better, as a row of enemies were defeated by the unexpected movement of the lightning strike.

"W-what the hell is that? Let me go!"

Thor pushed himself away from Odin and told her to focus on fighting. Odin noticed how Thor's cheeks were a bit red.

"Hahaha! Alright, then, let's get this show on the road!"

Odin charged straight into the enemy. For a second, Thor was stunned.

"W-what? Ah hell! Wait up!"

Thor summoned Mjolnir and went after Odin. He would never admit it, but he was worried one of the shadow gods might catch Odin off-guard since she wasn't at full power.

Well, even if he didn't admit it, Odin already knew that. That's why she rushed in.

And so Odin and Thor held back as many shadow gods as they could. The ones that passed would be dealt with by Osiris and the others.

Back in the settlement-world, when the first few shadow gods came, Osiris dealt with them alone. Once their numbers started growing, that's when she told Aine and the others "I'll be counting on you" she they also got involved in the fight.

"Haaa!"

Aine, already equipped with Zeros, punched the face of a shadow god. She had covered her hand with energy, so it made the shadow god go flying backwards, until Hayuru and Grace cut it with a sword-scythe combo.

But the shadow god still tried to attack. It tried to swing some kind of weapon against Hayutu, but Grace blocked it with her scythe and Hayuru finished the shadow god.

"Thanks, Grace."

"No problem. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to a friend of nee-sama's nor to one of nii-sama's lovers."

Hayuru blushed a bit and felt like responding "I could say the same to you" but then Aine called out to them.

"Oi, if you two are already done, let's go for the next one."

Hayuru and Grace nodded and, together with Aine, they continued fighting.

Over on another side, Yurishia was with the Masters fighting a group of shadow gods. Most of the Masters encircled the shadow gods with a barrage of bullets while Yurishia and Scarlet were flying over everyone.

"Let's do it, Scarlet."

"Alright. Everyone, get back! Fireee!"

With that as a signal, the Masters jumped back. Scarlet and Yurishia fired everything they had, making a big smoke cloud rise along with a loud explosion sound.

The shadow gods weren't defeated with just that. But they were still visibly damaged. So the Masters send another barrage of fire, killing off most of the encircled shadow gods.

"Let's help, Ralgrus."

"Fine, let's go."

Sylvia and Ralgrus came in to finish the job. Sylvia fired with her Taros' canon and Ralgrus killed whatever was left with her Demon's bare hands. After finishing their job, Ralgrus and Sylvia flew off so that they could support the other teams.

"My my~ these two have such small bodies but such big firepower."

"We can't get left behind, Yurishia! Let's go get some more."

Although no one said it, for this battle, it felt like Yurishia was back with the Masters. She was happy with Amaterasu, but there's no problem in relieving the past for a bit, so Yurishia continued cooperating with the Masters.

Osiris was observing the many battles, occasionally having to deal with a shadow god or two.

"All of them learned really well."

Sure, they were fighting less shadow gods than in Hypnos' previous attack, but the progress was clearly visible. Back then, they needed all their strength to just maybe damage a shadow god, but now it looked like they could keep this up for a while.

"I guess I'll leave it to them then."

Osiris looked fine, but everyone thought she must be at her limit by creating and maintaining that "tunnel" and also fighting. Well, there were also other things that were sucking Osiris' power, but she hadn't told anyone. It was a secret she'd only disclose if the other party discovered it.

"I'm going to rest for now. If anything happens, call for me."

Osiris shouted as she entered the building where the non-combatants and also those who lost their power, such as Nayuta and Hokuto, were staying. Osiris knew not everyone could hear her in the middle of the battle, but she only entered the building when she heard some voices replying to her.

After entering, Osiris sat down. In a way, she could tell how Kizuna and Thanatos' battle against Hypnos was going. She could feel the connection.

'Now is the time, Kizuna' she thought, and then felt some change in her body, but that was already expected. She had lend her power after all.

She hadn't told anyone, and not even Kizuna suspected it, but the kiss she placed on his cheek before the battle would play a big role from now on.


	40. Battle 2

Rather than Kizuna or Hypnos, the first one to attack was Thanatos. She pointed her mechanical palm toward Hypnos and an energy shot was fired.

Hypnos dodged it, but that allowed Kizuna to get closer and land a punch on Hypnos' face. Due to the Kisscharge Hybrid just before this fight, Kizuna was able to display great strength now. Hypnos bounced back and then said.

"Heh, so this might be really interesting I see."

Hypnos summoned a certain sword, it was Hokuto's sword. Kizuna knew that because he was given that same sword by Hokuto herself, who used the last bits of her power to do that.

Maybe Hypnos had chosen that weapon to make Kizuna get mad, but Kizuna kept his cool. Thanatos tried attacking more while she went to Kizuna's side.

A long battle wouldn't be good for either side. Thanatos would lose the Heart Hybrid's effects after some time, and Hypnos' body was unable to properly use the divine powers it held. Kizuna would be the only one to retain some fighting power after some time, but it was still in both side's best interests to finish this as soon as possible.

"Thanatos, I'll distract him for a while. Find an opening and hit him with all you got."

"Ok."

Kizuna whispered to Thanatos. Then, he started walking towards Hypnos, who did the same.

Once they were in range, their swords met. It was the same sword, so the wilder would be the differentiating factor. Of course, Thanatos didn't just stand there, she looked for any opportunity and shot some blasts towards Hypnos. That wasn't the attack Kizuna had told her to do, but it served its purpose of making Hypnos believe she and Kizuna weren't planning anything.

There was a metallic sound every time Kizuna and Hypnos' swords hit each other. Noticing this would last forever at that rate, Hypnos focused his power on his palm and shot it forward.

"Gah!"

Kizuna could have dodged it, but he defended instead. Kizuna's barriers were easily smashed by Hypnos' attack. The reason why Kizuna didn't dodge was because Thanatos was behind him. Hypnos guessed Thanatos still couldn't properly defend herself with the power she had recovered.

"Haaaa!"

Hypnos swung his sword, creating a shockwave that smashed another of Kizuna's barriers. Because of that, Kizuna was temporarily stunned. Hypnos used that opening to come closer and try to land a hit, but…

"Got youuuuu!"

Kizuna turned the situation around and grabbed Hypnos by the arm. Then, using all his enhanced strength, Kizuna threw Hypnos, he crashed through a wall and ended up out of Kizuna and Thanatos' sights.

"Don't you think you exaggerated a bit?"

"M-maybe a little. Come on, we can't let him out of our-! Watch out!"

Hypnos had, all the sudden, came up behind Thanatos. Kizuna and Thanatos didn't know, but Hypnos was now using even more of the powers he had stolen. Granted, that also meant his body had to pay for it and he had thrown up some blood without either of them noticing.

Hypnos focused a lot of power and tried to attack Thanatos with it, however…

Thanatos held her arms forward and a barrier was extended. Unlike Kizuna's, this one didn't break with Hypnos' attack. So that time earlier when Kizuna defended Thanatos was just to trick Hypnos!

It was Hypnos' turn to be temporarily stunned. In that second, Thanatos punched him with her new mechanical arms. Although the arms were still huge, rather than saying they hurt because of their size, Hypnos could clearly tell what was the source of the power behind that punch.

"Haa!"

Thanatos then grabbed Hypnos by the head and hit him against the ground. She threw him away next, but Hypnos managed to get on his feet this time.

Just as expected, Kizuna and Thanatos had figured out how their powers were meant to go together. That's how Thanatos was able to recover some strength for this fight. … Well, although Hypnos knew that, he didn't know what they did exactly, nor could he ever come close to imagining it.

As Hypnos stuttered backwards, Kizuna rushed in and cut him with Hokuto's sword. Kizuna cut the arm Hypnos was using to hold the sword he created. Due to the regenerative abilities he stole from Odin, Hypnos' arm quickly grew back, but he didn't make another sword.

"I see this won't be as easy as I hoped. I don't want to force my body even more, so I'll try it now. Oi, bring her over."

After Hypnos said that, a shadow god appeared. That shadow god was bringing someone over. Even Thanatos and Kizuna recognized her, it was the woman who created Hypnos and Thanatos, the "sleeping woman" who was being kept in this place.

She was still in the usual state of being naked and held up by "vines" with her eyes closed. Kizuna almost instinctively turned his sight somewhere else, but then remembered he was still in the middle of a battle, so he had to keep focused. Though he apologized deep in his heart.

Thanatos was visibly shocked from seeing that woman. That was the reaction Hypnos wanted.

"Well, Thanatos seems to be interested. I guess you already know who she is. Then this will be easy. The deal is very simple, either of you move, and she dies. So just stay put."

To show he wasn't kidding, the shadow god pressed something sharp to the woman's neck, which made her bleed a little bit. But there was still no reaction from the woman herself. Hypnos was approaching Thanatos and it looked like he planned to try to steal her powers again. No one knew if it was possible and no one wanted to find out.

Kizuna used his great speed to go past Hypnos and directly to the shadow god. Even before, Kizuna was able to use his speed to surprise Nayuta once, so now that he was powered up by doing Heart Hybrid with Thanatos he could reach a speed that would be hard to keep up with even for the gods. Add to that the small distance between the shadow god and Kizuna and he was confident he would be able to reach them before the shadow god could do anything.

As soon as Kizuna got there, he took the woman from the shadow god's arms, then, with a spin, kicked it. That was enough to kill that shadow god and now the woman was safe in Kizuna's arms.

But that was also something Hypnos expected.

"Ha!"

Hypnos released a huge amount of power to his surroundings. The blast was enough to send Kizuna and the woman flying. The reason why they weren't killed by that blast was because Thanatos quickly moved before the attack and protected all of them with her barriers.

Thanatos, Kizuna and the woman crashed through walls until they stopped. Unknown to them, just that wasn't the real aim of Hypnos' attack just now. There was a much bigger blast coming.

"Kizuna, are you fine? How about her?"

"Yeah, both of us are fine."

There was some blood on both Kizuna and Thanatos, but they weren't badly hurt or anything. The woman was still fine since Kizuna and Thanatos protected her, but there was still no sign of reaction even though her vitals seemed all good. Kizuna thought he should have his mother check on this woman once they got back.

"Aah, I would have just left if you two didn't have the strength to get up so quickly. I have to keep both of you inside this place so you blow up along with it, and I can't make any more shadows so I guess I'll do it myself."

"Blow up?"

"Yup. Just now, I activated a bomb I placed in this place. I guess I'll just break both of your legs and that should be enough to keep you all here."

Kizuna wasn't going to call it a bluff, but it really was the truth.

The effects of the Kisscharge Hybrid were starting to run out. No matter how this ended, it would end soon. So Kizuna took the most sound decision.

"Thanatos, take her along with you and get out. Actually, I don't know if it'll be helpful or not, but maybe try to take some documents from here as well. That might help with something. Get as far away from here as you can."

"But then, you'll…"

What Thanatos was going to say was obvious. "You'll die." There was nothing more logical than that. But somehow, Kizuna felt a certain warmth in his chest, it reminded him of Osiris for some reason, that's why he said what he did.

"I keep saying it, I won't die again. I can't say exactly why, but I feel a warmth in my chest, and it tells me it'll be fine, that it's time to go all out. So go, and don't worry about me."

Although Thanatos still wanted to say more, but they couldn't keep wasting time like this. She had to harden her heart, but Thanatos decided to trust Kizuna. If he said he wouldn't die, she would believe him.

As she was passing Hypnos, he tried to attack her while shouting "you think I'll just let you go?" but Kizuna was the one to meet his attack.

"Haa!"

Hypnos once again summoned Hokuto's sword and tried to attack Thanatos with it, but Kizuna used the sword Hokuto gave to him to block it, allowing Thanatos to escape with the woman and some other stuff she was taking.

Kizuna used his free hand to summon something else. Kizuna couldn't explain how, but he knew he could do it. Kizuna summoned another sword and swung it at Hypnos. Hypnos knew that sword was dangerous, so he jumped back to dodge.

Kizuna didn't know how, but he was able to summon Osiris' sword. He had only seen it a few times but he could tell it was clearly the real thing.

"… I have no idea what's going on here, but now I really can't let you go."

"Me too, I'll make sure to beat you, Hypnos."

Kizuna was dual wielding Hokuto and Osiris' swords, while Hypnos had Hokuto's sword. Hypnos focused his power on the sword, which changed shape and color, becoming jet black.

The next second, they both rushed towards the other. Kizuna's two swords crossed with Hypnos' sword and the sound of a heavy impact rang out. Even though the effects of the Kisscharge Hybrid should be gone, Kizuna didn't feel weaker, actually, he felt even stronger.

Kizuna used Hokuto's sword to parry Hypnos' sword, then used Osiris' sword to attack. Hypnos dodged and tried to shoot some energy at Kizuna, but this time Kizuna's barriers were able to hold out.

It was a small change. Kizuna couldn't see it and Hypnos probably didn't notice, but, right now, Kizuna's eyes shined with a yellow color, the same color of Osiris' eyes.

"Gah! Shit!"

Hypnos released even more of his power. Blood was coming out of his mouth, but that didn't matter right now.

Even with just one sword, Hypnos was now fast enough to trouble even Kizuna with two swords. Well, Kizuna was no master swordsman, but he still could hold his ground in a sword battle.

"Ha,aaaaa!"

Being forced into defense, Kizuna yelled out. His power shot up to the point Hypnos had to jump back. That aura… Hypnos knew it, it could only come from a god! Hypnos had yet to meet her, so he couldn't know, but Kizuna was now giving off Osiris' aura.

Taking advantage of his position, Kizuna focused his energy and slashed his swords in an X shape. Hypnos tried to defend and was able to avoid damage, but his guard was broken.

Not missing that chance, Kizuna rushed forward and stabbed both swords into Hypnos' chest, who he then pushed down to the ground. With the two swords pinning him down, Hypnos couldn't get up anymore.

"Ha, ha, ha."

"Ha,hahahahahaha!"

Kizuna was panting whereas Hypnos was laughing. Kizuna then remembered the reason why he told Thanatos to leave. The next second, everything blew up.

Kizuna's reflexes allowed him to raise his barriers before the blast, protecting both himself and Hypnos. Kizuna's eyes were losing their yellow glow and the barrier was starting to crack, but Kizuna forced himself to keep up.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Somehow, he was able to hold out until the explosion was over. As soon as it was over, Kizuna collapsed down in the piece of the lab that had been saved along with him and Hypnos. Osiris' sword which was pinning Hypnos down vanished.

And about Hokuto's sword, Hypnos didn't have any problem ripping a part of his body, it would regenerate later. He got up, picked up Hokuto's sword and then kicked Kizuna.

"Guh!"

"Idiot, you should have left me to die. Well, I won't be ungrateful, I'll kill you without pain."

Hypnos took aim with the sword. He would have beheaded Kizuna if his back wasn't hit by an energy shot.

Thanatos had come back. The effects of the Kisscharge Hybrid were already gone, but if she acted quickly she could win with the power of the Heart Hybrid alone.

"Thanatos!"

There was clear hatred in Hypnos' voice. Even he didn't know for sure where it came from. Maybe it was because she got to use her powers as she pleased, while Hypnos' body decayed every time he used his. Or maybe it was something else entirely.

Thanatos came close to Hypnos. He tried to swing Hokuto's sword, but Thanatos was able to dodge and use the difference between her mechanical arm's strength and Hypnos weakening body to grab his arm to block any attacks.

Thanatos then used her other arm to punch Hypnos in the gut. He lost his consciousness, but was still alive. He wouldn't be trouble as long as he was unconscious.

Thanatos sat down next to Kizuna. She decided it was best to wait for someone to pick them up rather than trying to take everyone back and maybe having her powers run out along the way.

"Thana,tos? Why are you here?"

"I left everything to Thor and Odin along the way and came back here. I thought that there might have been something I could still do."

Thanatos had put Kizuna's head on her lap, in other words, she was giving him a lap pillow. She felt bad for leaving him lying on the ground, so she decided to do that. But she still had her mechanical arms equipped just in case Hypnos woke up.

Thanatos asked how Kizuna was able to survive the explosion and, although Kizuna told the story, he still didn't know the exact reason. But it served as something for them to kill time while they waited to be picked up.

And so ended the battle with Hypnos.


	41. Epilogue

A day had passed since the battle. Kizuna had been resting in the infirmary building when he received a certain visit, Osiris.

Well, if she hadn't come, Kizuna would have gone talk with her though.

"Say, Osiris, during the fight with Hypnos, I…"

"I know what you're going to say. I'll explain it."

Osiris sat down on the bed and then placed her hand on Kizuna's chest.

"Remember how I checked your body before the fight and gave you a kiss on the cheeks? That was to see if your body could hold part of my power and then pass it to you. The kiss part wasn't really necessary, it could have just been touching or any kind of contact really, but at the time I felt like giving a good luck kiss."

"Wow, I didn't know gods could do that. But wasn't it dangerous?"

"There are a few factors to it, so it's not like I can just send my power to anyone at any time, but I knew it would work with you. As for the danger, I kept enough power to be able to easily maintain the "tunnel" and also fight if I had to, so there was no problem really."

Kizuna was impressed. Osiris said she wanted to make sure everything was fine, so she had come to check on his body, so Kizuna had to bear Osiris looking and touching his whole body again just like how she did before the battle. After she was finished, she said everything was fine and that Kizuna should keep what happened a secret between him and her.

"By the way, what happened to Hypnos?"

"Me and Odin created something like a prison to keep him in. He won't be getting out anytime soon. Also, Thor said that, since things are already resolved, it was time for him to leave."

So Thor had already gone back to doing his own thing, huh. Well, Kizuna had a feeling they would still meet for some reason.

After that, Osiris talked with Kizuna for a bit and then left. Kizuna took the rest of the night to rest and was back at 100% the following day.

The next day, everyone was busy getting their stuff ready. After so long, they would go back to their own world. Not the copy that Osiris and Odin had made, but their real world that had finished recovering from Hypnos' attack.

But, before they left, there was one last reunion. The usual members, except Thor, were there.

"Well, this is going to be short. We're just here to tell what we decided to do with Hypnos."

Reiri announced. Kizuna guessed this had been decided as soon as they brought Hypnos here and now they were just going to say it. Nayuta followed.

"We decided to take him along. He'll be in the prison Osiris and Odin made for him, and we'll keep him close to us in Ataraxia. Our main objectives are trying to figure out if we can recover our power, and see if there's anything we can do to help his and Thanatos' mother."

Needless to say, the woman was also going along with them to Ataraxia so they could try to wake her up. Even if that was unsuccessful, at least she'd be close to Thanatos.

Odin then raised her hand.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous? I find it hard to happen, but let's say Hypnos escaped, what would you do then?"

"About that… I'll be there, so it's fine."

What Osiris said surprised everyone in the room, so it was fair enough to guess no one knew about this.

"I mean, Thanatos and Hokuto are going to stay there, aren't they? Besides, it's not like there's anything for me to do back in my world, so I might as well help with that."

Kizuna guessed Osiris just wanted to stay close to Yurishia, but what she said was a sound argument. In truth, Kizuna wasn't wrong, but Osiris also had other objectives by staying in Kizuna's world.

"W-well, it should be fine as long as we get you some proper clothes" Reiri murmured.

"Seems fine. I guess I can also drop by every now and then" Odin said, signifying she no longer saw the problem she had pointed out.

There wasn't anything else to say after that, so the meeting ended right there. Everyone was busy preparing to go back home anyway, so it was best that it was kept short.

Kizuna didn't take long to finish preparing, then he waited for some people in a spot they had already agreed to meet at.

"Hey, Kizuna."

"Kizuna."

The first two voices he heard call out to him were Thanatos and Hokuto. Since they were going to live in his world, Kizuna said he'd show them around. Still, they weren't the people Kizuna had agreed to meet with, but he wasn't unhappy to see them.

"Ah, there he is."

"Found captain desu."

"Oh, nii-sama."

"Looks like he's already with Thanatos and Hokuto."

"Well, even then it should be fine."

The next voices that called out for Kizuna were the ones he had been expecting. Aine, Grace, Yurishia, Hayuru and Sylvia. In other words, the people he had started a relationship with. Well, Reiri wasn't there, but still.

As they would be going back to their normal lives after this, Kizuna wanted to go together with them. It was just something he wanted to do.

"Hey, everyone."

After a quick greeting, the whole group started moving. Some would be going back to their old life, while others were going to start a new life. No matter the case, a part of their lives had ended and another begun.

But that wasn't the end of their story.


	42. Note 5

**Told you this one was short.**

 **So we finished the Hypnos part, huh. For me at least, it was quite a ride. There was stuff I wanted to do that I gave up on, and stuff I didn't plan on doing that I ended up doing anyway.**

 **Well, no matter the case, here we are.**

 **This was a mostly action/story focused batch, as opposed to last one. And what will follow next… will be something like the last batch.**

 **I mean, I'll need a timeskip to get to part 2 of the story, but I didn't just want to cut to it. Besides, it's a place I can put some stuff I won't be able to fit into part 2 (like some sex chapters, a few side stories, the story about how Kizuna was revived I skipped on batch 2, and such).**

 **Now, I mentioned on the last note that the posting would be a little different now.**

 **Well, you guys might not see much of a difference, there will be a longer wait, but more chapters.**

 **Basically, what I normally do with these chapters is that I write them and then proofread and then post them. But now I'll write these "filler" chapters (I'll call it that because… couldn't think of a better name), which I should then divide into 2 or so batches and then, after some time, post them.**

 **So in short, I'm gonna be gone for a while and then come back with a shitload of chapters.**

 **After that is done, we'll start part 2, which shouldn't be too long.**

 **As for what happened in this batch, there was the fight with Hypnos, but there's not much for me to comment about it. About the whole thing with Kizuna using Osiris' sword… let's say the explanation she gave wasn't wrong, but there's more to it than that. But we'll get to that when I get to the time she was trying to revive Kizuna.**

 **There was the hybrid with Thanatos. I tried dialing it back to something like the early volumes of the LN, since I felt it would be around what was right for their relationship currently. Well, she'll be living with Kizuna and the others as a normal person now, so we'll see how that develops.**

 **And yeah, that's about it… I mean, the batch was short, so the note is also short. I kinda wanted to get a bit into Kizuna and the others' lives now that they came back, but I'll do it in the next batches.**

 **Hopefully, I'll see you all again in the future. Bye for now.**


	43. Back Home

After the problem with Hypnos had been taken care of, Kizuna and the others returned to their normal life. And that of course meant going back to school.

It had been a long time since they were back to school, ever since Aine got her memories back. While it just took a little bit for the ace students to get used to everything again, Kizuna was very much worried about how he would recover that lost time.

"I give up! Why, after all we've been through, do we still need to keep going to school?"

"Aine, stop complaining. Let's just get this over with quick."

Aine and Hayuru were talking to each other while studying, or at least trying to. Although Kizuna felt it in his heart that it was wrong, he was happy to know Aine shared his pain.

"Say, Kizuna, do you get this problem? Can you teach me~?"

"I'm happy, but I'm not any better in this subject. Actually, aren't you better?"

Taking advantage of the fact that they were side by side, Yurishia pressed her body on Kizuna, that's why he said he was happy. In truth, Yurishia didn't actually need any help from Kizuna and just wanted to flirt a bit to take a break from the studies.

Classes had been extended so that they could make up for lost time. After classes, a lot of students formed study groups to try to help each other, these four were one of such groups.

Yurishia and Hayuru didn't seem to have much difficulties studying, at least not as much as Kizuna and Aine had.

"I got it! Kizuna, let's get married and then we can be the emperors of Vatlantis. That way, we don't have to worry about studying. It's a perfect plan."

"I don't think either Nayuta or Reiri would accept it like that, also Kizuna is a person from this world, so he should study like everyone else. But you do have a point. Since you're an emperor from another world, you can follow your plan alone if you'd like."

"G-gah! T-then, I guess I'll stay."

Yurishia easily shot down Aine's idea. Though it's not like she was serious about it, or at least it's what Kizuna chose to believe. He wondered what would have been her reaction if he had accepted it.

Aine was still studying like normal. It had been decided that, for the sake of diplomatic relationship, Aine would be allowed to finish her education at Ataraxia. Well, it was like that in paper, but in reality no one minded Aine staying there, she had long since become a part of that world. In fact, there would probably a lot of mad people if she wasn't allowed to continue in Ataraxia.

"Ah, Kizuna, that's wrong, right there."

"E-eh? Is it? Then how do you do it right?"

Hayuru ignored Aine and focused on helping Kizuna. It was like she was his private teacher, or at least that's how Kizuna felt. Hayuru was strict, but Kizuna really did feel like he was learning.

Though sometimes Kizuna's imagination flew off to other places. Like imagining how Hayuru would look with a teacher-like cosplay. A tight suit and skirt, maybe some glasses. Things like that were probably the biggest obstacle in Kizuna's progress.

They continued studying and then, after some time, decided to head home.

And by head home it meant that everyone was going to Kizuna's room.

Since Kizuna was in a relationship with them, they shouldn't just spend the time in school together, but also some of their free time. Maybe you could consider it luck (for Kizuna that is), but the girls decided that they wouldn't fight to decide who would get to stay with Kizuna anymore, but rather would share him.

It didn't take them long to reach Kizuna's room. Inside, Sylvia and Grace were already waiting for them.

"Ah, it's captain desu."

"Welcome back, nii-sama."

Kizuna and the girls also greeted Grace and Sylvia. They put their stuff away as Sylvia finished preparing dinner. After that, they all ate together.

Reiri couldn't be there with them that night, well, she hardly ever got together with them. It's not that she disliked the other girls, it's just that, as she herself says, she feels out of place still.

Well, Kizuna would take care of that by spending some time with her some other day. Reiri would one day get used to this, so there was no need to rush.

After dinner, it was time to take a bath. Normally, it wouldn't be unusual for all of them to go in at once, but Kizuna's bath couldn't possibly hope to hold all of them at once, and he also said he was tired from studying, so everyone ended up taking turns in the bath.

Then, even though it was still early, everyone put on their sleepwear and laid down on the bed, which apparently had been changed from a normal bed to one that could fit all of them. Kizuna had no idea when that happened or who did that, but he had to be thankful.

Grace was the only one here who didn't study, but she surely must be tired from working as emperor in Vatlantis all day. In short, everyone there was running low on batteries. That's why they decided to talk with each other before going to sleep.

"You haven't been sleeping well?"

Hayuru was the one who asked, but it was a question present in all of the girls' minds.

Somehow, during their conversation, this subject had come up, so Kizuna talked about a few sleeping problems he's been having recently.

"But you don't seem tired at all."

"I don't feel tired. It's like I spend the whole night awake watching a movie or something, but don't feel tired the next day. It's been happening ever since the fight with Hypnos. Maybe I've been having some kind of dream that I don't remember?"

Just as Kizuna had said, ever since the fight with Hypnos, he's been having some trouble sleeping, in a sense. Even so, he didn't feel the least bit tired. He felt like he could probably stay awake for a few nights and still run a marathon like it was nothing.

He still felt mentally tired from studying all day long, but he didn't feel physically tired. Even after the fight with Hypnos, he rested more out of caution than out of lack of strength.

"It could be a side-effect from the Heart Hybrid with Thanatos. Or maybe Hypnos is trying something."

Aine suggested, but it felt unlikely. If it came from the Heart Hybrid with Thanatos, Nayuta should have been able to pick up on it before, and even if she didn't, something similar should show on Thanatos, which Kizuna had asked her about and she said it didn't.

Hypnos being the source was also unlikely. As far as Kizuna knew, Hypnos was doing literally nothing back where he's being kept, and he wouldn't have had any time to do anything to Kizuna between the time Thanatos beat him and when he was locked up.

But Kizuna decided it was worth paying Hypnos a visit. It probably had nothing to do with what was happening with Kizuna, but he at least wanted to confirm Hypnos state with his own eyes.

"But enough of that. Since you're all here, I want to make up for the time we didn't spend together when we had to fight Hypnos. I guess it's time to test the limits of my stamina."

The girls looked at Kizuna with lewd eyes, but not ones that said they didn't want it. It was only after a few seconds that Kizuna noticed how what he said must have sounded to them.

It wasn't his intention to make it sound like that, but he couldn't really take it back. Since that was the case, he had to put plan B into action.

Just like how he did with Aine on their date after the fight with Thor, Kizuna limited himself to hugs, kisses and cuddles for all of them. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to do more, but he knew they first had to recover the time they lost before they could advance further in their relationship.

That being said, Kizuna was outnumbered 5 to 1, so he had to give them some ground. Even so he held them back just enough that they didn't go too far.

On the next day, Kizuna took some time off to pay a visit to Hypnos. He was being kept in a secret part of the Nayuta lab, but since Kizuna already knew where he was, he headed straight there.

"Kizuna? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Osiris. I've been having some trouble sleeping, so I just came to check on something."

"Trouble… sleeping?"

Kizuna encountered Osiris on the way. She, along with Hokuto and Thanatos, stayed in this world after everything was over. From what Kizuna heard from Yurishia, Osiris spends a lot of time here helping keep check on Hypnos.

Kizuna continued moving while Osiris just stood there, as if she was thinking about something.

It didn't take him long to reach that place. Hypnos was being kept in a room with just a bed and a table for him to eat. Hypnos was just sitting on the bed, unmoving like if someone had pressed the pause button.

But, once he noticed Kizuna, Hypnos got up and headed for the window that allowed people to see in.

"Tick tock. Tick tock."

He looked straight at Kizuna, but there was nothing Hypnos could do. Nayuta had used the notes Thanatos brought back from the lab where she and Hypnos was created to make something to block divine powers, and Osiris and Odin used their power to bring that theory into reality.

Hypnos could do nothing, and Kizuna didn't really feel anything coming from him, so he's likely unrelated to what was happening with Kizuna right now. Maybe it was nothing and Kizuna was just nervous for going back to his normal life, but it was good that he made sure. If nothing else, it would at least bring some peace of mind, knowing Hypnos was currently powerless.

On the way out Kizuna saw Reiri. She seemed busy, so Kizuna figured he shouldn't interrupt. He gave her a wink, which basically meant "we'll see each other soon" to which Reiri nodded.

After that, he went back to school. The day wasn't any different than normal from that since the girls wouldn't be coming over today.

At night, Kizuna once again went to sleep. Once the next morning came, just as he expected, he didn't feel tired, but didn't feel like he slept through the whole night either. It really was strange, but there didn't really seem to be a problem.

But, thinking it would just take some time to get used to everything again, Kizuna continued his daily life like normal.


	44. Memories of The Dead (Part 1)

What follows is the real reason why Kizuna has been having trouble sleeping. It's a dream he sees a little bit of every night, and forgets once the day comes.

Osiris had just found Kizuna's soul in the land of the dead. After giving him some of her energy, she told Kizuna they should get going.

"Come on. I think I know of a way to revive you, so let's get going."

"Y-yes."

Kizuna still hadn't been revived at that time. In the real world, now was probably around the time Odin, with Nayuta's help, was making a new body for Kizuna. While that was being taken care of, it was Osiris' job to get Kizuna's soul back.

When she found him, he unexpectedly still had "a little bit of life" left. It was like he was a small flame about to blow out. This made things a little easier. Osiris' original plan was to "carry" Kizuna's soul around until she got him revived, but since he still had something left in him, she just gave him a bit of her own life energy so that he could act on his own for a while.

"H-hum, if you don't mind, where are we going? And what are we going to do once we get there?"

"… You remember when you, Aine and Grace came to my world? I told you my world's history then, right?"

Kizuna nodded. He was still getting used with being only a soul, so even nodding was somewhat of a challenge, but he quickly got used to it. It wasn't much different from moving with a normal body, but it still felt different somehow.

"Well, I'm not exactly the last survivor of my world. Along with me, there was another person who turned into a god and survived that world's curse. My brother, Set. I stayed behind in our world to try to revive everyone, but he made a different choice. He decided to come here and rule over the dead."

Even if Osiris didn't say anymore, Kizuna could already guess what came after. Osiris had already tried and failed to revive the people in her world, but what about her brother? He became the ruler of the dead, so maybe he had a way to revive Kizuna.

"So we're going to go ask your brother a favor in order for me to get revived? A-ah, I guess I should thank you first of all, for coming all the way here to help me, thanks."

"Isn't it a bit early for thanks? He is my brother, but it's not like he'll do whatever as long as you ask nicely. … Well, I do know one thing that will make him do whatever we ask, so I guess it's fine."

Kizuna thought it might be some secret between siblings. He knew it would work on his case at least, depending on what sort of thing Reiri used to "convince" him. Unfortunately, he was far off the mark, and would soon find that out.

After some time walking, Kizuna started feeling tired. Osiris said that they should rest for a bit. Kizuna sat down on the ground and Osiris sat beside him.

"I don't know why… even though we haven't really done much… I feel so… sleepy."

"You feel sleepy? Let me try something then."

Osiris' hand touched Kizuna's shoulder, and then he felt like an electric current was flowing through his body. Once Osiris took back her hand, the current stopped, and Kizuna now felt awake like normal.

"W-what was…?"

"Oh, what you were feeling wasn't sleepiness. Your life energy was running out, so I gave you some more of my own."

"I-is that alright?"

"It's fine. A god has a stupidly high amount of life energy, enough to say it's basically infinite, so this much is nothing. Well, there is a set amount, but like I said there is so much we might as well say there is no limit. Whenever you feel sleepy again tell me and I'll give you more energy. That being said, let's let your soul get used to my energy for a little before continuing."

Kizuna nodded. There would be no point in moving right now that he was still getting used to the fuel he was moving on.

Since they had some time to kill, Kizuna decided to ask something that had been on his mind.

"Say, how is everyone? What happened after I died?"

"Except for your death, things are mostly fine. I'll leave the details for when you're revived, but I'll tell you Thanatos is fine, you managed to save her. As for the others, not everyone knows about your death yet, but those who do were really affected by it. I don't think I need to mention how your mother and sister are, but those girls who love you, they were hit really hard by your death."

Hearing that, a complicated feeling formed in Kizuna's chest. Of course, he didn't die because he wanted to, but he also felt responsible for what everyone, Nayuta, Reiri, Aine and the others, was going through right now. There was only one thing that could be done about that, Kizuna had to convince Osiris' brother, Set, to revive him.

"I've been spending some time with Yurishia, and the others also have someone to help them. I know what they're going through, that's why I want to get you revived as soon as possible."

"Now that I think about it, you said Yurishia looked like your daughter, didn't you? Is that why you've been spending time with her?"

"W-well, I won't deny it. At first I just wanted Yurishia to serve as a substitute for my daughter, Isis, and I even considered using my powers to control her mind to basically make her "become Isis". But then, well, everything happened. I've been spending time with Yurishia, and I've started seeing her for who she is. This might sound strange, but it's become like she's a daughter I never had, so I couldn't bring myself to do something like controlling her mind anymore. … Sorry, I went a bit off the rails."

"No, it's fine. I haven't spent a lot of time with you, but I can tell you're not a bad person, so I'm happy someone like you is supporting Yurishia while I'm not there. I don't really know anything about Yurishia's family, but if you told her how you feel, maybe she would accept keeping a mother-daughter like relationship with you. Well, like I said, I don't really know anything, so I'm just saying."

Kizuna couldn't have known at the time, but Osiris kept those words in her heart. She only finally gathered enough courage after Thor showed up, but she did eventually tell Yurishia how she felt.

After resting for a few more minutes, they continued walking on their way to Set.

It didn't take them long to reach the right place, or at least that's how Kizuna felt. There were multiple times during their walk were Kizuna's consciousness started fading out and Osiris had to "refuel" him, so maybe they had been on this trip for a long time.

But it wasn't hard to make sure that this was the place. It was a big pyramid. If Kizuna had to say something about it, he'd say the place just screamed "this is where the ruler lives" or something like that.

Though Osiris had told Kizuna at some point during their walk that she had never been here, she still entered the pyramid as if it was her own home. Kizuna followed behind her.

It didn't take long for them to reach the throne room. It reminded Kizuna of the place he met Osiris at, except this one seemed a lot more luxurious. On the throne was the god Set.

Since Osiris had already done so much for him, Kizuna wanted to at least talk with Set himself. He didn't want to just leave her to do everything.

"H-hum, e-excuse me. H-hum…"

"What? Who is this? Who gave you permission to talk?"

Set merely eyed Kizuna from where he was sitting. That alone gave enough pressure that Kizuna couldn't continue speaking, and it seemed that's how Set preferred it.

Set was a man with dark hair and skin, his eyes were yellow, much like Osiris. Even being the same sex, Kizuna had to admit that, just as Osiris was a beautiful woman, Set was a handsome man.

It wasn't hard to see the resemblance between these two, but there was also a big difference. Except for when she wanted to seem angry or intimidate someone, Osiris always gave off a nice aura that didn't made people scared of her. Set, on the other hand, seemed to indicate by his aura that he felt superior to everyone else and would only accept that was truth.

"Set, I want to talk with you."

"… Osiris? It's been a while since I've last seen you, but you're still as beautiful as I remember. What is it?"

"I'll be blunt, I want you to revive this boy, can you do it?"

Unlike how it was when Kizuna tried to speak, Set seemed to be listening to what Osiris was saying. But it didn't felt like he was doing it because she was his sister, but rather because he wanted to see what he could take from what she wanted of him.

"… What if I said I could? You don't expect me to do that for you just because we're siblings, do you?"

"Of course not. I have an offer."

Osiris then walked up to where Set was sitting. She then whispered something in his ear. Kizuna guessed it must have been the thing she talked about before.

Once she finished, Set looked at Osiris' face with a smile.

"In that case… Alright. I'll get it done. For now, Osiris, put him in one of the rooms, once you're done go meet me and we'll discuss that."

Osiris nodded, and then she took Kizuna along with her to one of the free rooms of the pyramid.

"Say, Osiris, if you've never been here before, how do you know where the rooms are and such?"

"This place is modeled after the place me and Set used to live in, that's how I know where things are even though this is the first time I came here. For now, you should just stay in the room until Set revives you, you can leave the rest for me."

"And what was that that you offered him? I mean, you don't have to say if it's something too personal…"

"Well… let's say I might have to stay a while. If you can get revived with just that, then it's fine."

For some reason, Kizuna had a bad feeling about what Osiris said, but she never answered when he asked her to explain in a way he could understand.

Once they arrived in a room, Osiris put Kizuna in there and then locked it from the outside, but she made sure Kizuna didn't notice right away.

While Kizuna was locked, Osiris was left alone with Set.


	45. Family

Kizuna was spending the night in Reiri's room. Due to the time Kizuna had to spend studying and Reiri working, this was the only free time they had to hang out together.

"… How have things been going?"

"Well, just as busy as it has been since we got back. Hypnos still isn't doing anything, so it's hard to get anything from him. As for his and Thanatos' mother, there also hasn't been much progress there. That woman has been trying to wake her up, but nothing happens."

So Nayuta had been trying to wake up Thanatos and Hypnos' mother, but it didn't seem to be working out. Last time Kizuna talked with Thanatos, she had told him she was spending some time with her mother to maybe see if that helps wake her up.

Kizuna understood what Thanatos felt. He knew he'd do the same in her place, so he offered to help her if she needed.

But right now, he had to spend some time with Reiri.

"So, what do you want to watch, nee-chan?"

Kizuna asked as he looked through a list of movies on the TV. After she had finished changing clothes into her sleepwear, she laid down on her bed next to Kizuna.

Reiri lifted Kizuna's arm and wrapped it around her neck. Kizuna, of course, embraced Reiri with his arm.

"I don't know. How about you pick?"

Reiri pressed her body on Kizuna and then put her face close to his. Their lips were close to each other, but before Reiri had the chance to close that distance, Kizuna did.

During the events with Hypnos, Kizuna and Reiri had confessed their feelings to each other, so they became lovers in addition to already being siblings.

As they continued sharing the kiss, their hands crawled all over the other's body. Kizuna groped the two big round things on Reiri's chest while Reiri gripped Kizuna's hard rod and moved her hand up and down slowly.

"Kizuna."

"Nee-chan."

Considering all they had already done, and even that they had done a Heart Hybrid during the AU war, there was no reason for them to just stop there.

Well, they wouldn't have, if someone hadn't come barging in.

"Hey there, my children. Mommy came to visit."

Just from the voice alone, Kizuna and Reiri could tell it was Nayuta who had come in. While Reiri wondered just how in the world Nayuta had the keys to her room, both she and Kizuna had to go back to their normal state before Nayuta entered the bedroom.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"My, don't be so cold, Reiri. I know you wanted to spend some time alone with Kizuna, but I also want to make up for lost time with my children. Maybe it's because I've been seeing Thanatos and her mother, but I've been feeling like I want to be a good mother."

Nayuta threw herself on the bed between Kizuna and Reiri. It was like a daughter jumping in between her parents, except it was inversed.

Nayuta grabbed the controller from Kizuna's hand as she said "I know a good movie" and Kizuna just let her do as she pleased. Reiri's look showed she didn't like it, but Kizuna convinced her to let the three of them watch a movie together.

/

"Ahh, that was fun, specially Kizuna's screams. Anyway, it's pretty late, but I'll be going now, I don't want to get in the way anymore. Good night."

Nayuta said as she left Reiri's room. Like she had said, it was already pretty late, but Kizuna didn't really worry about her. Even if something happened, Nayuta still had even if just a little bit of her powers left, so she should be fine.

"Finally that woman is gone."

"H-haha, but nee-chan really enjoyed the movie, didn't you? And besides, kaa-san really does seem to want to make an effort to make up for lost time, so nee-chan should also do her part."

Reiri pouted "I'll think about it. Also, I thought you weren't good with horror movies" and Kizuna found that cute. And yeah, Kizuna was never good with horror movies, which was the genre they just watched, but he was able to keep a cool face this time (even though he was pretty scared on the inside and wasn't able to hold a few screams back).

"But it got so late. I wanted to see if we could.. you know, but now it's late and we'll have to wake up early tomorrow."

Kizuna understood what Reiri was saying. But, even still, Kizuna didn't want Reiri to feel like their time hadn't been worth it if they didn't have do anything like that, that's why he asked.

"Why does nee-chan want to do it that badly? I mean, it's not like I don't want it, but it's not like we have to do it every time. I know we've barely spend any time like lovers, so there's no problem with waiting."

"Well, yeah. But I know who I'm up against. I've seen you do Heart Hybrid with those girls time and time again, and I just feel like I can't keep up when we almost never see each other like this. So…"

"Ah, I see."

Kizuna knew Reiri felt a little insecure when she compared herself to Kizuna's other lovers, he guessed that was the reason why she felt she needed to get ahead whenever she could.

What Reiri said was true. It was already late and they would have to go to sleep soon so they could wake up early. But there was still enough time to take care of his sister's insecurity.

"If that's how nee-chan feels, there's only one thing I can do."

"Ahh!"

Kizuna pushed Reiri down to the bed. Then, out of nowhere, he sealed her lips with a kiss. While he did that, he let his hands run wild on Reiri's body, touching every part of it.

"For just a little bit, I'll throw out all my restraints and show nee-chan just how much I love you."

"What are you-? Aaahn!"

Just as Kizuna said, for a little bit, he just let his instincts and raw feelings guide his actions. He let himself act based solely on his desires.

He quickly lifted Reiri's shirt, revealing her naked breasts. He grabbed them with both hands and started playing with them, but Reiri's moans couldn't be heard because her lips were sealed by Kizuna's lips.

A few seconds after, Kizuna let one of his hands go down. It soon reached Reiri's sleep shorts and pulled them down. He started playing with her special place and used his mouth to suck on the breast that was lonely while his other hand played with the other breast.

"Amm~! Kizuna!"

Not long after, Reiri's place was left in a completely wet state. Kizuna then finished pulling down her shorts and then took off his pants.

Before Reiri even noticed, Kizuna already had his thing aimed at her entrance. All it would take was a little push and he would go in.

"K-Kizuna, are we really going to-? Mmh!"

The lust in Kizuna's eyes said everything. He pushed in. The tip spread her insides as it made its way in.

Reiri felt really happy. She thought she had some kind of handicap against the others, but she was able to get Kizuna like this. She kissed Kizuna's lips to show how much she was enjoying this. She kept up the kiss waiting for Kizuna to go further in.

But… he never did. The tip entered, but that was it. No matter how much she waited, Reiri couldn't feel Kizuna pushing the rest in. She then broke the kiss and looked into Kizuna's eyes, who then said.

"It's a good thing nee-chan kissed me when she did. If you hadn't, I'm not sure I would have been able to stop myself. That's how much I love you, nee-chan."

"B-but why?"

"I wanted to show just how much I love you, nee-chan. You think you can't keep up with the others unless you do everything you can, but to me you're just as important as just everyone else. Since we can't go on dates or meet like this as often, it might not seem so, but please trust me, nee-chan. I love you just as much as I love the other girls, so you don't have to jump at every chance to get ahead. Let's just enjoy each other's company like this, we'll take care of the rest later.."

Kizuna pulled out before he couldn't do it anymore. Reiri released a sigh after she noticed how much what she had said about feeling like she was falling behind bothered Kizuna, and how much he really cared for her both as his sister and as his lover.

So Reiri felt she had to react as well. She finished taking off her clothes and also took Kizuna's off, they were now both completely naked. Reiri then hugged Kizuna to her chest and they both laid on the bed. Finally, Reiri pulled the blanket over them and said.

"For tonight, let's go to sleep like this."

"… If it's what nee-chan wants."

Reiri still hadn't solved all her problems. For example, she still wasn't sure if they should make their relationship public or keep it hidden. But she did get that Kizuna loved her just as much as the other girls, so she wasn't under any kind of handicap.

Reiri then kissed Kizuna, to which he replied by deepening the kiss. They hugged each other tightly, as that would be what kept them warm during the night.

Sure, Reiri's breasts were pressing on Kizuna's chest, and their parts were rubbing against each other, but more than the sexual pleasure, they were focused on feeling the other.

They kept the kiss going for a long time until both of their consciousness drifted into sleep. And, once they woke up, their first instinct was to continue the kiss.

/

The next day, Kizuna decided to pay a visit to Thanatos and Hypnos' mother. He hadn't visited her yet, and it wasn't like he was completely unrelated since she was the woman who created Eros, so he wanted to check on her at least once.

Kizuna went to the place where the woman was sleeping, and there he met Thanatos.

"Hey Thanatos, how's your mother been doing?"

"She still hasn't woken up yet, but Nayuta says she will eventually find a way to wake her up."

That's good, Kizuna thought. It might take some time, but Thanatos would probably eventually get to talk with her mother.

"Thanatos, don't you want to go breathe some fresh air for a bit? I'll stay here a little, so you stretch yourself."

"Ah, thanks, I'll do that."

Thanatos probably felt comfortable with leaving Kizuna here because she knew he wasn't a bad person, otherwise, she surely wouldn't have left.

Kizuna sat down where Thanatos just was, and then looked at the woman's face for a while. She really did resemble Thanatos, so she was really beautiful.

"Boy… forgetting… him…"

"… What? Who was that?"

Kizuna had the impression he heard a voice, but that was impossible, there was no one here other than him. But, from what he could tell, did that voice come from Thanatos' mother?

After a few minutes, Thanatos came back.

"Thanks for staying here, Kizuna. If you want, you can stay some more."

"Ah, no. I have to get going, but… Thanatos, did you ever hear someone while in this room?"

"Hum? Every now and then you can hear people from the other rooms, so yeah."

That made sense. Kizuna wasn't the type to believe in ghosts, but he asked just to make sure. Besides, Thanatos' mother was still alive, so she couldn't have been a ghost.

Good thing it was still daytime, or Kizuna might have been sweating bullets right now.

Kizuna said goodbye to Thanatos and then left, deciding to forget about what he heard. He was never good with horror movies, so he didn't need anything like that in his normal life.


	46. Memories of The Dead (Part 2)

Kizuna's sense of time was messed up. Granted, he was actually dead and Osiris had told him time moves differently here than in the land of the living, and there was also the fact that, ever since Osiris found him (his soul) here in the land of the dead, Kizuna has had his consciousness waver because his life energy was running out.

All of that contributed to messing up with Kizuna's sense of time.

But even so, he still felt there was something wrong. It had been a long time since Osiris had left him to go talk with her bother Set. He couldn't tell if it had been a few hours or more, but he knew it had been a long time. She had told him it shouldn't take long, but that's not what was happening.

He suddenly had a bad feeling and just couldn't stay put anymore.

"I think I should go check it out."

That's when Kizuna tried heading to the door, only to find it was locked. He was surprised, but it didn't take him long to figure it was Osiris who locked him. She probably didn't want him to leave that place, for some reason.

But he was still worried, so he looked for a way out. Luckily, most likely because she had given him some of her life energy, Kizuna's instinct somewhat told him where he could find Osiris. It wasn't exact in the least, but he had a feeling she was still in this pyramid.

While looking around, Kizuna found an opening in the wall, a window. When he looked down from it, he noticed that, because of the triangular shape, the pyramid's sides formed something like a slide down.

It was a crazy idea, but Kizuna thought he could slide down and then enter the pyramid again. It wasn't a smart plan, and it was life threatening, but it was the best Kizuna could come up with.

"All right, let's do it."

Kizuna tried psyching himself up to gather some courage. Then, he carefully put his leg on the pyramid's slope and, once he felt he was stable enough, let go.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

Then, he fell straight down to the ground.

Kizuna then discovered that, thanks to him already being dead, he couldn't die again. His face was slammed onto the ground, but all he felt was a stupidly huge amount of pain for a while.

After a few seconds of his body (soul) hurting all over, Kizuna got up and went inside the pyramid he had just fallen from.

Kizuna hadn't thought about this before, but the pyramid was really empty. Kizuna didn't find anyone there. Granted, this is the land of the dead, so it wouldn't make sense for anyone to be here in the first place.

And Kizuna was thankful that the place was so empty, since he really didn't want to sneak around to find Osiris.

/

As mentioned before, Kizuna had some kind of connection to Osiris since she gave him some of her life energy. He knew she was somewhere in the pyramid, but that didn't really help him.

A good amount of time had passed with Kizuna looking for Osiris and he had yet to find her.

"Just where could she be? Think…"

Kizuna went back and thought to what Osiris and Set should be doing.

Her heard them saying they were going to discuss something. Kizuna had already checked the throne room, the place where he met Set, and they weren't there.

Kizuna thought that the throne room would be the most appropriate place to hold such a conversation, but then he reconsidered something. That would be true for an official meeting, but to talk with family, wouldn't a more comfortable environment be better?

So Kizuna found another place to look. He climbed up until the very top of the pyramid, and there he found a room. Once he entered, he found it was a bedroom, so maybe it should be called the pharaoh's room.

"? Who's there?"

"Osiris? It's me, Kizuna."

"What?! What are you doing here?"

Kizuna recognized Osiris' voice, that's why he answered her. He had tried to come in unnoticed, but he had apparently underestimated a god's abilities.

"Where's your brother?"

Set was nowhere Kizuna could see, and he found that strange.

"After we finished discussing he said he was going to revive you. That was a while ago. Didn't you see him?"

"No. I was starting to find it strange, that's why I got out and went looking for you."

"… I can't say if what you did was right or wrong, but just to make sure stick around with me. If Set comes here and you two just happened to miss each other, we'll have to apologize."

Osiris probably wanted to keep Kizuna around to make sure Set would fulfil his end of the deal. If he was trying to trick them, at least Osiris could make sure Kizuna's soul didn't die because it ran out of life energy.

Just to make sure, Osiris gave Kizuna a little bit more energy and then told him to sit down next to her. They sat on the bed, and Kizuna felt that would make Set angry, but Osiris told him to not mind it.

"… While we wait, if you don't mind, can you tell me what you two were discussing?"

"… Right, that would be a good idea, that way, you can tell the others."

Osiris then looked directly at Kizuna's eyes. From her gaze, he could tell what she was about to say was serious.

"Set is going to revive you, so you're going to go back to your mother, sister, friends, and those girls that like you. The deal I made for him to do that… I'll stay here with him."

"W-what?"

Osiris would stay in the land of the dead so Kizuna could return to the land of the living? He didn't like that.

Of course, he knew reviving a dead person wasn't easy, Osiris herself had already tried and failed. It made sense for there to be a trade like this, but Kizuna still didn't like it.

"No way! You can't stay here. Didn't you say you wanted to get closer to Yurishia? And we still need your help to fight that guy who killed me. You can't just stay. We'll find another way that doesn't involve you trading your life for mine."

"No Kizuna, you seem to have misunderstood. It's not a trade. It's not something like to revive someone you need to sacrifice a living person. It's… something different."

It's not a trade? Then… what is it? Osiris was going to answer that now.

"I've already tried and failed to revive someone, but Set says he has that power. In that case, I needed to convince him to revive you, and I knew one thing Set wanted… me. But I never gave in to him, and our parents even helped me. Eventually I married a man who I loved, who would one day give me my daughter, so Set never got what he wanted."

Kizuna was starting to see where this was leading.

"I didn't want it, but Set never hid how he felt, even though it was just for his own lust. When everyone except the two of us died, Set thought he had a chance. He stayed with me and, for a while, I almost gave in to him, but I managed to recover before that. That's when we went our separate ways. And it's also how I knew that, if I offered myself, he would use his powers to revive you."

Kizuna now thought he understood where the bad feeling he suddenly got came from. Maybe that bad feeling had been some of Osiris' inner thoughts of not wanting this that were transferred to him via the life energy she had shared. Or maybe he was just thinking too hard.

"I understand."

Kizuna said and Osiris nodded. She felt it was better this way. But then Kizuna continued.

"So Osiris really can't stay here."

"Huh?"

"I mean, if it was a necessary trade so that I could be revived, I would understand Osiris giving up, but I would still try to look for another way. But if it's just to please someone, then I really can't just go on my way and leave you here."

"No, Kizuna, I don't think you understand."

"I do understand. When Set comes back, I'll tell him you're not going to stay anymore. And if he says he won't revive me anymore, then we'll just look for another way."

Osiris wasn't trying to deceive herself or anything. She knew she didn't want to do that, but figured it was the only way to revive Kizuna.

"What other way? There is no other way. And besides, even if I did went back, what would I do then? Everyone from my world is dead, so who's really going to miss me? It's better this way, there's no need to go through the trouble."

"I'll tell you who'll miss you, Yurishia. Didn't you say you stuck with her when she was suffering because I died? She might not think of you the same way you think of her, but she's not heartless enough to not care about someone who helped her so much. And even then, my mother will miss you, since you were the one to help her when this all began, Odin will miss you, since you two seem to be good friends. And I'll miss you as well. And I'm sure other people will as well."

Maybe it was because she wanted to find a way out of this, but Osiris wanted to believe in Kizuna's words.

"… Do you really not mind it? There might not be another way to revive you, and even if we say we're sorry, Set won't hear us again. This is a one-time chance."

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm not leaving without you, whether you like it or not."

Osiris gave up. She wanted to convince Kizuna to let her stay here, but it seems like the roles were inverted. He ended up convincing her.

"Really now, Yurishia found herself a nice man. If my daughter had lived longer, I would have liked for her to also find a good man like you."

Osiris then gave Kizuna a kiss on the cheek, well, the equivalent on his soul. While Kizuna was stunned, Osiris continued talking.

"I said that just didn't give in, but that wasn't the case at the start. I didn't have much courage back then to go against Set. I was around your age, and a boy I knew also around that age came to talk with me. He helped me stand up and say "I don't want to" when my parents asked what I wanted. I married that boy after a few years. Right now, you remind me of him. … That said, you're not the man I fell in love with, so a kiss on the cheek is the best I can do for you."

Kizuna understood why Osiris had kissed his cheek now. Well, even if there were no real feelings behind it, Kizuna's face still grew red.

But now, he wouldn't back down, even against a god. He was determined to leave the land of the dead with Osiris along with him.

/

Kizuna was determined, but Set was taking a really long time to show up. It got to a point where Kizuna and Osiris just made themselves comfortable in the room. Kizuna had even found some kind of ball and was playing around with it while Osiris just minded her own business.

But then, it happened.

"Gah! Aaah!"

"Kizuna? What's-? Aaah!"

Both Kizuna and Osiris started feeling a sharp pain all over. It was like someone was trying to pull their insides out, they couldn't even move.

"This is interesting."

Then, as if out of thin air, there was someone else in the room. This person had a male sounding voice, but it was hard to make sure.

That was because of how his body was. There was no body, it was just a skeleton with a black mantle covering him. As soon as Kizuna saw him, he could only think of one thing: death.

Osiris was the first to notice that the skeleton was carrying Set by the neck. Just what or who was this thing?

That's how Kizuna and Osiris met someone who would change their lives from that point onwards.


	47. Odin

Unknown to Kizuna and co, Odin had a certain suspicion even after Hypnos' defeat. She tried investigating a few things and was getting closer to finding something.

Thanatos and her mother were with Kizuna in his world, and they weren't the type who would cause any trouble. Hypnos was also there, but he was unable to do anything.

But there was something missing in that story, or rather someone missing. The man who called himself Chronos, where was he right now?

Sure, he was just a human, and they didn't know how long it had been since the events they saw on Thanatos and Eros' memories, so it could be that he had just died in the meantime. Gods lived way longer than humans, so that was a likely scenario.

However, part of being a warrior also has to do with listening to your guts from time to time, and Odin thought this was one of those times.

Something told her to investigate stuff about Chronos. That same thing told her that, if she didn't make it in time, something more troublesome than Hypnos would show up.

"This should be the place."

Odin arrived at a place that, much like where Kizuna and Thanatos fought Hypnos, looked like some kind of laboratory. Except this one looked like it was put together in a hurry, and whoever was here didn't plan to stay for very long.

Odin looked around. She was able to find signs that people had been living in that place, but she didn't find anything else. There was nothing that could tell her who was here and if he or she had already left and to where.

"Still, it couldn't hurt to check everything out."

Although Odin was a warrior, she wasn't ignorant about science. She planned to gather whatever knowledge she could and, if necessary, she could take whatever she didn't get to Nayuta or Osiris and they could probably do something with it.

She read through and investigated as much as she could. She could comprehend a lot of things, so she got that, whatever was being researched, it had something to do with the gods and their powers.

But there was one part that worried Odin. The research mentioned that there would be a need of a huge source of power, something that a single god couldn't provide, but if it was the power of multiple gods…

What worried Odin was that she knew exactly where to find "a battery" like that.

"I should warn Osiris and everyone else."

"That would be troublesome for me."

Odin didn't even turn around. She materialized Gungnir and threw it behind herself, to the source of the voice she heard. Normally, one would think of trying to catch the person that might be the culprit behind everything, but not Odin. She knew that if she killed whoever this was now, there would be no more problems down the road.

But all she heard was the sound of the lance piercing through a wall. That meant that whoever was behind her wasn't hit by the lance.

"What an aggressive lady. Shouldn't you try to talk first?"

"I figure things will be a lot easier if I just get rid of you."

Instead of attacking, Odin now turned towards the source of the voice. Since she couldn't kill whoever it was in her first attack, she figured she should at least confirm his or her identity. Well, she knew it was a man just from the voice.

Just like Odin expected, the person who was there with her was identical to the man she saw on Thanatos and Eros' memories, the man who called himself Chronos. He didn't look a day older than he did on those memories.

Once again, Odin manifested Gungnir on her hand. She didn't hide her intentions to defeat Chronos right there and then.

"I guess there's no way this won't turn into a fight. In that case, at least let me move my things."

Then, in the time it took for one to blink, everything from the laboratory disappeared. It didn't take much to figure out that Chronos had used some kind of power to move those objects. Though Odin was able to catch a little bit of what happened, so what he had done is that he had sped up his own time and moved around.

Maybe he didn't attack Odin because he thought this would scare her and she would give up, but that wasn't the case. Odin remembered seeing something similar when Hypnos stole her powers. Thinking back to that time, it was probably Chronos himself who had helped Hypnos then, so she wouldn't get surprised by this.

Not wasting a single second, Odin thrusted her spear towards Chronos, but he dodged as if he was teleporting around.

"Tell me something. Did you always plan to take the powers Hypnos stole from the other gods or was it something you discovered recently?"

Chronos seemed a bit surprised by Odin's question, but he quickly started laughing as if he remembered the funniest joke he had ever hear.

"No, I planned that from that start. I studied his powers and changed them so that he could steal powers from other gods. I also inserted his weakness of not being able to use too much power without getting his body damaged. Really, that woman planned to give him sleep related powers so that he could help people by allowing them to live long lost dreams or maybe getting over some kind of trauma, his life is much more useful in my hands."

So even Hypnos' weakness of not being able to make full use of the powers he had stolen wasn't something he was born with. Truth be told, the only reason why Kizuna and co were able to win was because Hypnos couldn't make full use of the power he had stolen, but hearing the truth about said weakness angered Odin.

"But don't worry, once I use Hypnos as the battery I always meant for him to be, I won't have that same weakness. I wish no one had showed up here, but I guess it's a good opportunity to test the new version of my core. I haven't used it since conquering my old world, so it should make for a good warm up."

Chronos then purposefully opened the lab coat he was wearing. On his chest there was… something. Odin could tell it was similar to a god's core, but it was also somewhat different.

It was like an armor's chest plate. In the center, there was a round glowing object, surely the core responsible for any powers he had. The light wasn't strong, but there was a glow. As Chronos had said, this was a new version of something he once used.

Then, before she noticed, Chronos showed up right in front of Odin, stuck something on her chest, and then went back to where he previously was.

"What did you-? G-gaah!"

Odin felt a pain as if something was burning through her chest. She also noticed the core on Chronos' chest started glowing more intensely. It wasn't hard to figure out it was sucking power from Odin.

She tried pulling the thing out of her chest, but it wouldn't come off.

"Now we can fight."

Chronos had showed up right in front of Odin and, before she could react, he landed a punch right on her face. Odin was already missing some power because of Hypnos, and now Chronos was also taking more of it, so she really felt that punch even if it wasn't all that strong.

But of course, she wasn't just going to take those attacks and do nothing about the thing on her chest. It would hurt, but there was something she could do.

Odin readied her lance and, without hesitation, stabbed through her own chest. That took care of the thing Chronos had stuck to her, but it also gave her a grave wound.

Normally, Odin's regenerative powers would take care of that no problem, but ever since Hypnos stole her powers, she wasn't able to cure herself as effectively. The wound would heal, but it would likely take around an hour.

"No hesitation, huh. Guess I'll have to make the most of what little I got right there. Good thing I had some energy left on reserve."

Chronos approached Odin, but she attacked him. He was able to hold her lance, but she could feel her power coming back and his vanishing.

Odin put all her chance into pressuring Chronos. She was wining on a contest of strength and almost had him on lock between her and a desk.

But that's when Chronos took advantage of his time powers. He disappeared and reappeared behind Odin. Then, he grabbed her by the back of the head and repeatedly hit her face against a desk. Odin felt like her reaction time was off, so Chronos probably did something to her.

Still, as soon as she was able to, she grabbed Chronos' arm and started twisting it. She would have broken his arm if he didn't get away quickly.

"You're not going down easy are you?"

"Of course not. I have the final boss on my sights, so I'm going to finish this right now."

Odin then rushed towards Chronos. She threw her lance, but he dodged it, but that was part of Odin's plans.

She grabbed his elbows and, with all her strength, smashed his balls with her knee. If this was a duel or something, Odin wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics, but this wasn't a fight she could afford to lose even if she had to cheat, though it's not like she really minded the used of tactics like that. All is fair during a real fight.

Chronos then fell to the ground, apparently in a lot of pain. Odin took that chance to ready her spear and thrust it down Chronos' face.

But then, the second before she could kill him, both the lance and Chronos disappeared. Odin already knew what to expect, but couldn't dodge in time.

"Guuaaah!"

Odin's own weapon, Gungnir, was thrusted through her stomach. Chronos was using so much strength that Odin was pushed down to the ground and her lance pinned her down.

Luckily, she could just make the lance disappear, but Chronos still kicked her in the face. Once he went in for another attack, Odin manifested Gungnir one more time, but this time she made sure it pierced his chest and, obviously, the chest plate holding his core.

"Gaa! Shit!"

Chronos was a scientist, not a warrior. He wasn't feeling nearly as much pain as Odin was, but he still acted as if he was deadly wounded. The difference in fighting experience gave her an advantage.

Still, now was Odin's only chance to-

"Guess I have no other choice. Goddess Odin, know that you won't die. I'll take good care of you while you can't move."

"? What are you-?"

Odin felt it again, Chronos had done something with time. But he was still in front of her, except…

He was wearing something on his left hand… a glove? Odin didn't recognize it at first, but soon noticed what it was and how it was bad news for her.

"Bye bye, Odin."

"!"

Chronos activated his special glove. Odin tried to rush towards him, but she wasn't able to reach.

"Gah!"

But her lance made it through his chest again. Chronos spat out blood while Odin fell down frozen in time.

"Damn it, how persistent can she be!?"

Chronos yelled as he pulled out Gungnir. Those injuries Odin gave him and having to fix his core would end up delaying his plans a bit, but not too much, so he wasn't angry to the point he'd kill Odin while she couldn't react.

Chronos then walked up to where Odin had fallen. He checked to make sure she really was frozen in time and then grinded the soles of his shoes on her face out of anger.

"Well, I guess there's a good thing. I've been lonely here, so I'll enjoy the company of such a beautiful woman."

Chronos said as he took Odin's body to a place similar to where he kept the body of Thanatos' mother. Then he brought all of his things back. If someone other than Odin showed up here, he'd like to know and take care of it.

After Chronos healed up, he continued working on the finishing touches of his project.


	48. Memories of The Dead (Part 3)

"So these are the ones you talked about? The male seems to be the one who wishes to get revived, and the female… ah, I know who she is."

"Guu,aah!"

The skeleton started pressing on Set's neck when he noticed he wasn't going to respond. At some point, Set wasn't able to take the pain and said with a ragged voice.

"P-please, Lord. You can take out your anger on them, but please have mercy on me."

Although the skeleton's expression didn't change, since he didn't really have a face, Kizuna and Osiris had the impression he seemed somewhat angry.

"You would offer a random person and your own blood to save yourself? It seems you have not learned what I asked of you. Go re-educate yourself, and if you make it back here, we shall see to you getting your post back."

"N-no, p-please don-"

Then, Set disappeared, as if he had turned into dust. The skeleton then materialized some kind of throne and sat on it, not a second after, Kizuna and Osiris stopped feeling that sharp pain.

"W-what did you do, to Set?"

Osiris asked. It was only natural that she would be worried about her brother, even if he wasn't the best guy around.

"Do not worry, I simply forced him to reincarnate. No, he had yet to die, so it might be more accurate to say that I killed him and then forced him to reincarnate. That man was not fit for the job I entrusted him with, he had come here with the objective to rule over me but, once he noticed he would never be able to, he kept trying to use me to his own benefits. There are no shortage of people who wish for his role, but if he makes it back here and proves that he is worthy, then I shall restore his position."

Whoever this was, he had been able to kill a god as if it was nothing. Osiris couldn't help but stay on guard.

As for Kizuna, he was somehow able to get a question out.

"W-who are you?"

"Who indeed. I am the oldest god. I turned into a divine being so long ago I do not even remember things such as my mortal name. I shall allow you to call me by whatever you wish, and in exchange I shall not bother with your own names."

So he didn't mind what he was called. Set had called him Lord, but Kizuna thought that Death was a more appropriate name.

Osiris now looked fine, it was impressive given she had just seen her brother die in front of her. Well, she seemed fine, but Kizuna thought he could feel anger and other emotions coming from Osiris right now. She then asked.

"What do you mean the oldest god?"

"I shall explain soon enough. But first tell me, goddess, you came to this land to get this boy revived, did you not? And your brother told you he had the power to do so."

"Y-yes."

"He did not lie, and even you have that same power, as well as the rest of the gods. However, I would not have allowed it. I rule over all, and I am the one who is the most powerful amongst the gods."

The way he said it, maybe he knew about Thanatos and her fame as the most powerful? Apparently, that wasn't true. Kizuna and Osiris were confused, but the oldest god continued without minding them.

"For instance, goddess, the entirety of your world has perished, has it not? You made many attempts to bring them back, and many of them should have been successful, however I did not allow any of them to be. I do not allow anyone to meddle with life and death, even if their death was unfair."

"W-what?"

Osiris was stunned, to say the least. So the reason why she never got her world back was this man(?). If Osiris was feeling a variety of emotions when Set was forced to reincarnate, it wasn't hard to imagine how she was feeling now.

"Allow me to tell a story. A long time ago, I was but a mortal being in charge of research when I discovered something similar to what you now call a divine core. I took that power to myself and got drunk with it. I ruled over all the worlds, as well and life and reality, and killed whoever came close to replicating what I had done. However, my process what imperfect. I became immortal, but my body did not."

Then, Death, as Kizuna called him, took off the mantle that covered his body. There was no trace of his former body, only his bones left. But there was something else. A round core at the center of his skeleton. The core shined with a rainbow of colors.

"By body died, but I continued on. I decided to remove myself. I would no longer interfere with whatever happened in any world, but I would act whenever a fool tried to mess with things such as time, death, and the like, as I once did. But not directly. I employed subordinates, like the goddess' brother, to take care of specific jobs while I monitored them. This is the part that might interest the two of you."

If Kizuna had to give his opinion, this story was already really interesting, but he started paying special attention now that Death said that. Osiris had already been attentively listening to everything.

"After some time, a woman managed to recreate part of my work, but for some reasons she spread her work around all worlds. Rather, although less powerful, her work might be more complete than mine. Now, there is a man who plans to take the same foolish path that I once did. I had sent one of my subordinates to defeat him, but that subordinate had his power stolen and was killed instead. I planned to simply send someone else on that mission, but now I shall make an offer. If you two accept this job, I shall send the boy back to the land of the living."

The oldest god had just told them the story of how Thanatos and Hypnos' mother managed to create, or rather replicate, the core that turned a person into a god, and the man he had talked about was the one who called himself Chronos. But Kizuna and Osiris didn't know about any of that yet.

So the oldest and most powerful god was going to revive Kizuna as long as he and Osiris accepted that job? It didn't seem like a bad offer.

"To make myself clear, I will not reincarnate the boy. I shall allow your plans to revive him to succeed, but there is still a problem. Without life energy, his soul will just leave his body again. I could solve this, but I have already said I don't allow anyone, not even myself, to meddle with things such as death. But there is another solution, that's why I asked for agreement from both of you."

Before Kizuna and Osiris even had the chance to get confused, the oldest god cleared their doubts.

"There simply needs to be someone to give him that energy, and that shall be you, goddess. I will make it so that both of you draw from the goddess' remaining life energy. If after you've completed your jobs, you no longer wish to sustain his life, I shall undo it, or if you wish to keep sustaining him, I shall allow it as well. If both of you are in agreement, I will quickly send the two of you back."

Kizuna felt like he got the gist of what he had been told. Death could, but wouldn't revive him. If Kizuna wanted to go back to life, he needed to make Osiris agree to share her life energy with him. That, of course, wasn't something Kizuna could just decide on his own.

"Osiris, are you fine with this? I don't really get it, but won't you live less if we do this?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But like I said, a god has so much life energy that sharing it isn't really a problem. Besides, I've already been sharing my energy with you this whole time we were here, and I don't particularly want to live for centuries on end, so I don't think there's any problems with this. Is this really all we have to do? Accept the job to not let this man, whoever he is, do as he pleases with his power and share life energy?"

"Yes, it is just that. You two are probably wondering who this man is, but you will find out not long after you go back."

The oldest god asked if Kizuna agreed with the terms. There wasn't anything bad for him, so he had no reason to refuse. The fact that he would be essentially stealing the amount of time he would live from Osiris bothered him, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"Then it is settled. As long as you two fulfil the mission I've entrusted you with, I shall not interfere. But if you fail, you do not get to keep your life."

Kizuna audibly gulped, but luckily the skeleton didn't bother with him. Both Kizuna and Osiris blinked and, next time they opened their eyes, they were back to the land of the living. Osiris kept her memories, but Kizuna did not.

Kizuna did not keep the memories even when he dreamt about them after using Osiris' powers against Hypnos.

"Mm, waaaa!"

However, tonight was different. Kizuna woke up in the middle of the night, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He was sweaty and his body was shaking, but there was a difference to the dreams from the other nights.

"… I remember."

Kizuna now remembered. Not just that night's dream, but every one of them. Or rather, he got back the memories he had once lost.

Kizuna felt like he needed to do something, he needed to meet Osiris. Even though it was well in to the night, Kizuna put on some normal clothes and then went after Osiris.

/

The date had already changed, it was really late, but Kizuna still headed out in order to try to meet with Osiris.

He felt like he had an idea of where she was, similar to how it was in the land of the dead. Kizuna went to a certain place close to the Nayuta lab and he really did find Osiris there.

At first, she looked surprised by seeing him there, but then it looked like she understood it not long after.

"So you remember?"

"Yeah. And you had never forgotten, right?"

"It's not impossible for gods to keep their memories from the land of the dead, but humans shouldn't be able to. Your memories coming back is probably a side-effect from using my powers against Hypnos."

"… I want to talk for a bit."

Osiris nodded. She then sat down on a bench and told Kizuna to sit next to her. After a few seconds, Kizuna began talking.

"So it really wasn't just a dream, right?"

She felt it was obvious, but Osiris still answered "yes". After Kizuna properly took that in, he continued asking questions.

"So, before me and Thanatos fought Hypnos, you didn't really give me some of your powers, right? Then, how was I able to use your powers?"

"Both before and after the fight, I just checked your body to see if there were no problems, but I didn't give you anything. You were able to use my powers because you're living thanks to my life energy. A normal body wouldn't be able to hold that power, but this new body of yours is stronger and it has already gotten used to my divine power running through it. If you really wanted to, I guess you could become something like a god."

Hearing that, Kizuna got somewhat exited. So he could become a god? It's not like Kizuna wanted to, but it was amazing to think about. A man could dream.

But then, seeing Kizuna was getting a little overexcited, Osiris decided to pour some water on him.

"You like that idea? I suppose it isn't so bad. The only real catch is that you'd far outlive everyone you love, but other than that there shouldn't be any problems, at least none I can think about right now, but you're likely to find some along the way."

"I-I was just imaging it, it's not like I plan to use that power. Sure, I'd be a lot more powerful, but I don't need that if it meant I'd have to live without Yurishia and the others. I'd rather stay a human."

"I like that answer. If you got too greedy for power, I'd cut your supply of life energy right now" Osiris casually threatened Kizuna's life, which made him a bit scared, and then continued. "But now let me ask something. Let's say you one day met an enemy that threatened to kill everyone, and you could only beat that enemy if you turned into a god, what would you do?"

"I-I…"

What Kizuna said about wanting to stay human was true. He didn't feel like gaining so much power if it costed him the people he loved. But if something like what Osiris said happened… Kizuna didn't know what to do.

Since he didn't have an answer, and he just remembered the most important thing, Kizuna changed the question.

"Oh yeah. About the job Death gave us…"

"You call him Death? … I won't comment about that. But about the job, there's no problem. The man he talked about was likely the same one from Eros and Thanatos' memories, he'd need to do something like taking the power Hypnos holds in order to really become a treat, and as long as we're guarding him, that won't happen. We can just continue to live our lives normally."

Osiris was the type of person to think things through, so Kizuna didn't doubt her. If she said it was fine, he'd believe her.

"Just one more thing… why did you do it? I mean, why are you sharing your energy with me? I know you said it's nothing to a god, but still doesn't that mean that each day I live is a day less of your life?"

"Like I told you, I don't really mind. In one way, we think alike. I also wouldn't want to live forever without those I love, but I made my choice long ago. The way I see it, I have an excess of lifetime, so giving some to you is one of the best ways I can think of using it."

"I see. But you shouldn't say stuff like that. Since you're still alive, you shouldn't think of your life as just an excess. Who knows, maybe one day you'll find more people you love. You love Yurishia like you loved your daughter, right? Maybe you should stick around for a while longer, life is always worth living."

Kizuna had deviated from the main topic a bit, but he managed to ask what he wanted, so he said he was going to go back to his room and sleep until it was time to go to class. They both said goodbye to the other and went about their own thing.

After a long time, Kizuna finally felt he was able to get a good night's sleep, even though he woke up in the middle of the night. After that night, Kizuna never again had those dreams.

Kizuna also decided that what he found out in those dreams was best left between just him and Osiris. He felt like it would only bring unnecessary worry if he told it to anyone.

Kizuna continued with his normal life for as much as he could, until a certain fateful day.


	49. Time Off

"Since you guys fought so hard in the AU war and also against Hypnos, I'm giving you all some time off so you can relax. I already took care of everything, so just go enjoy yourselves."

That's all Nayuta told Kizuna and co before she told them to get ready for a trip and then threw them in a plane.

From what Kizuna could see, the people that were thrown here with him were Aine, Yurishia, Hayuru, Reiri, Sylvia and Grace. While Kizuna had to agree that all of them fought hard during those battles, he felt that his mother had been a bit biased when forming this group.

But well, Kizuna was happy for this opportunity. During the fight with Hypnos he didn't spend a lot of time with his lovers, so now he wanted to make up for lost time. That was even more true now that he remembered what happened before he came back to life.

"Well, we're already here, might as well see where we're going."

Kizuna was able to calm everyone down with this, though it's not like the girls were worried or anything.

Since they were on some kind of plane, they could only do the stuff people usually did during flights. They had to sit down and either sleep or maybe watch a movie. Well, it was still early, so sleeping wasn't really an option.

Kizuna figured he'd watch a movie. Well, that was his plan, but…

The seats on this plane were a bit special. They didn't have an armrest, or maybe they had been put away, so they seats were all joined together. Also, there seemed to be more seats in a row than normal, since, except Reiri, all the girls chose to sit beside Kizuna, and there was enough room for everybody.

"Well, this is a good chance."

"Right. Nii-sama didn't spend much time with us before we all came back to our normal lives."

"Yes yes, he needs to make up for it."

"Y-you got it, Kizuna? You have to make up for it."

"Sylvia also wants to join in desu!"

The girls started voicing out what they wanted Kizuna to do. Kizuna had already decided to make up for that lost time, so it only gave him more reason to do so.

So he decided, Kizuna would spend the whole duration of the flight talking with the girls, and then, once they got out, he'd spend even more time with them. He only wished Reiri would also join in, but she didn't seem to want to. Kizuna figured he should also focus on that during this trip.

While Kizuna spend the whole flight with the girls, Reiri got in contact with Kei and asked her if she could explain what was Nayuta's plans, since they were put on a plane with basically no information. Kei explain, but she noticed Reiri wasn't playing as much attention as she normally would.

[… Reiri, why don't you go join them?]

"N-no way! I could never do that!"

[… If you say so. That's about as much as I know. Enjoy the trip.]

She had already finished telling all she knew, so Kei turned the call off. For the rest of the flight, Reiri kept eyeing Kizuna and the girls with envy, but it was too late for her to join. So she just had to endure for the rest of the flight.

After a few hours, they arrived at their destination. There were two cars waiting for them, but before they got in Reiri explained to them what Kei had told her.

Basically, Nayuta not only wanted to give them some time off as payment for their efforts against Hypnos and in the AU war, but also so that they could focus on their relationship, and there was also another reason. They were currently in the USA float. Since this was mostly a surprise, Nayuta would have their clothes and other stuff send to the hotel they would be staying at, which is where the cars would take them.

"That's all well and good, but there is one thing we need to settle right now."

"Right. There are two cars, which means only some of us will go with Kizuna to the hotel."

Aine said and Yurishia followed. They would all be going to the same hotel, but Kizuna already knew he should just stay quiet, so he just entered the car and waited for the girls to finish.

"So how should we settle this?"

"How about…"

While that was going on outside, Reiri simply ignored all of it and entered the car with Kizuna. Maybe she did that because she didn't get to spend time with him on the flight, she entered without any of the other girls noticing and then told the driver that he could go.

"Ah! Nii-sama is going away!"

"That's not fair desu!"

The driver obeyed Reiri and left with only she and Kizuna on.

But Kizuna saw this as a good opportunity to spend some time with Reiri.

"Nee-chan, why didn't you join us during the flight?"

"I-I… I don't really feel like I belong, that's why I just got in without waiting for those girls. I feel like we can't be together unless we're alone."

Reiri still had some trouble getting together with the other girls now that she was also one of Kizuna's lovers. It's not that she disliked them, she just didn't felt like she was part of the group. This trip would be a good chance to fix that.

"Nee-chan, I know I've already said this multiple times, but I love you just as much as I love Aine, or Yurishia, or Grace, or Hayuru, or Sylvia. You don't have to feel left out, just come join all of us."

"I-I know that, but still…"

To show what he meant, Kizuna went to kiss Reiri, but she avoided it. "W-we shouldn't do it in front of others" she whispered.

Avoiding being seen like that probably wasn't doing Reiri much good with her problem, or at least that's what Kizuna thought. That's why, when Kizuna saw that the driver wasn't paying attention, he took Reiri's lips.

The kiss didn't last very long, but it did transmit Kizuna's feelings. Reiri looked confused, so Kizuna whispered on her ear.

"I think avoiding others' eyes like we've been doing isn't good for our relationship. That's why, little by little, I want to bring our relationship closer to what I have with the others. Eventually, I want nee-chan to be like all the others."

Once the drive wasn't paying attention again, Kizuna kissed Reiri one more time, but she replied back this time. Maybe she was looking forward to it, even though she didn't admit.

After that, it wasn't long before they arrived at the hotel, Aine and the others arrived not much later after them.

Once they checked in, Kizuna and the girls were taken to their room. They were told their bags would arrive soon, so they decided to check the room first.

"Wow… this room is…"

"It's so extravagant."

Everyone had their mouths agape. Saying it was a luxury room wouldn't be enough to describe it. Since they were in the USA float, maybe this was some famous hotel Kizuna didn't know about.

Everyone went around checking the room, and each part was more impressive than the last one.

"This bath is so huge 10 people could likely get in at once."

"The bed is so big we can all sleep with nii-sama without any trouble."

"There's a "simple" kitchen here, but it's like a restaurant desu."

"Even the living room is just absurd. What was that woman thinking?"

While they were looking around like that, their things arrived. Yurishia received them and called everyone so each one could take their own stuff. Kizuna took his and decided to put it in place.

Since he didn't have a lot of stuff, he was finished fairly quickly. Kizuna was surprised his mother didn't slip anything on his stuff, maybe she really just wanted them to relax.

After he was done, he saw that everyone was doing their own thing, so Kizuna deiced to take that chance to take a bath, after all, he had sweat a lot all the way from Ataraxia to here, plus it would help him relax.

Kizuna entered the bath, it really was huge. He washed his body before he entered the bathtub.

After a few minutes soaking in, Kizuna heard some voices coming from the changing room. Well, it wasn't really unexpected, so Kizuna didn't freak out. From what he could tell… there were two different voices.

Then, not much later, the ones who entered in the state they were born in were… Hayuru and Sylvia.

"K-Kizuna, w-we…"

"Captain, we came here to take a bath with you."

While Hayuru's face was still burning red, Sylvia took that chance and jumped in with Kizuna. She made a huge splash noise, but Kizuna was able to catch her in his arms.

But, before he could react, Sylvia went for it and kissed Kizuna's lips. As he didn't dislike it, Kizuna replied back with a kiss of his own.

"Mmh!"

"Nn, chu."

"H-hey, Sylvia!"

Hayuru was slowly moving towards them, so Kizuna told her to come.

"Hayuru, come here. Sit with us."

"I-I guess there's no other way."

Hayuru got in the bath, but because of its size, she was still a bit far from Sylvia and Kizuna. That's why Kizuna grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, of course, he made sure not to hurt her.

When it looked like Hayuru was going to fall, Kizuna caught her in his arms and, before she could react, he kissed her. Hayuru allowed him to go deeper and even hugged him tightly.

After the kiss ended, Kizuna told Hayuru.

"You know, you should be more honest with yourself."

"Yeah. Hayuru loves captain just as much as any of us, so there's no need to hide it desu."

Hayuru was a strict person, so she had a little trouble being honest with herself at times like these. She knew she should try to be more honest, but she was afraid Kizuna might not like her like that. But then, she had an idea.

Some might consider it a waste, but Hayuru thought it was a good way to spend it. She looked into Kizuna's eyes and then said.

"Kizuna, I know what I want as my reward for fighting Thor."

It had been a while since any of the girls had asked for that reward Kizuna promised. Kizuna could see the determination on Hayuru's eyes, so he kept quiet and listened.

"From now on, I'll try to be more honest with myself, so… no matter what happens, you can't hate me."

"… Is that it?"

"Y-you got a problem with it?"

Kizuna showed a smile on his face. He thought Hayuru was kinda cute like that.

"No, but you didn't need to use it for that. There's no way I would hate Hayuru anyway."

"J-just leave it, ok."

To show what he meant, Kizuna used one arm to hug Hayuru and another to hug Sylvia. He wanted to show that they were both important to him. They replied by hugging him back.

Of course, he could clearly feel the soft parts of their bodies. Even though she complained about it, Hayuru did have a nice and feminine body, and even Sylvia was developing nicely. If he wasn't focused on making up for lost time, Kizuna didn't know how he would react from this.

"By the way…"

Both Hayuru and Sylvia looked at Kizuna.

"You two got in without washing yourselves first."

""Ah.""

They both just realized it. Kizuna didn't really mind it, but he saw a good opportunity in that.

"Since that's the case, I'll help you two clean yourselves and then we can all go back in."

They didn't need Kizuna's help, but they weren't going to deny it.

They each sat on a stool and let Kizuna help them wash their bodies. While they washed their hair, Kizuna washed their chest. While they washed their arms, Kizuna washed their legs. And so on until every part of their bodies was clean. That division was… surprisingly efficient and they ended before they thought they would.

And since that was the case, it was Kizuna's turn. Sylvia took care of the front while Hayuru got the back. They made sure Kizuna could feel their soft touch as they washed his whole body.

Once they were done, they went back in the tub and enjoyed each other's company for a nice long bath.

"… I love you two."

"I also love captain."

"I-I… I love you too, Kizuna."

Then, Kizuna gave a long and deep kiss to Hayuru and then to Sylvia. After that, although they didn't really want to, it was time to head out.

Some time passed, and it was time for dinner. After that, Kizuna waited until Reiri went to take a bath so he could talk with the others about something. They agreed to help him.

Nothing much happened after that. Kizuna said that, since they were all tired from the (unexpected) trip to here, they should go to bed early so they could make the most of their time tomorrow.

Well, since there was only one bed in this room, it meant Kizuna would be sleeping along with the girls. They were all far past the point to mind that, and it even worked for what Kizuna had planned.

Kizuna took his sleepwear from his things and then left the room so the girls could change. After a few minutes, he was told to come in.

"W-what?!"

Kizuna was surprised by what he saw. The girls were all wearing sleepwear that covered very little of their bodies, and even the parts that were covered were almost transparent. Reiri and Hayuru looked a bit embarrassed, but the others were all clearly showing their bodies.

It wasn't hard to imagine how this happened. Nayuta had probably put those on the bags instead of their normal sleepwear. That would explain why their designs were very similar.

"Ah! There's nothing we can do about it now, so we'll stick with this for tonight. But tomorrow we'll do what we can about these clothes and the room."

Kizuna couldn't deny that he was surprised by the girls' sleepwear, but he didn't take long to recover.

"Nee-chan doesn't want to sleep here with us?"

"T-there's no point in me staying here. I'm just in the way."

"That's not true, nee-chan. And we'll show it to you."

Kizuna approached Reiri, and then quickly kissed her. Reiri was surprised and worried about how the others might react, but…

Nothing. Aine, Grace, Hayuru, Sylvia and Yurishia were just looking, as if it was the most normal thing. They already knew about the relationship between Kizuna and Reiri, but that should be their first time seeing it, so why weren't they reacting?

Once the kiss ended, Reiri sat down on the bed, clearly confused by something.

"Nee-chan, didn't I tell you? I want to make our relationship just like everyone else's."

Hayuru was the first one to speak.

"W-well, I won't deny it'll take some getting used to, but I don't think any of us are in position to deny the others' feelings. I mean, look at how our relationship is."

Then came Yurishia and Sylvia.

"Fufu, I remember the headmaster always saying she wouldn't give Kizuna to us, so I imagined something like this already."

"If you love captain, you're just like any of us desu."

And at last Aine and Grace.

"I have to agree with Hayuru, we couldn't really criticize each other even if we wanted to."

"If nii-sama loves you and you love him, there's no problem with showing it."

From the moment they started it, Reiri thought that, if their relationship really came out, that everyone would think they were weird, but it's not what was happening. Well, these girls were only a small group of close friends, but still…

"You all… really don't mind, something like us?"

All the girls showed Reiri it was fine. Then, Kizuna put his hand over Reiri's

"So, nee-chan? What do you want to do? Do you still want to stay alone, or…?"

"I want to stay, just like everyone else" for some reason Reiri answered instantly.

Everyone in the room flashed a smile. Things went easier than they thought they would.

Kizuna took Reiri by hand and led her to the bed. Well, she was already sitting on it, but he took her to where she could lay down. The others also followed.

Then, Kizuna gave Reiri a thigh hug, a kiss and said, with a clear voice so everyone could hear.

"I love you, nee-chan. I love every one of you. I love Aine, Grace. I love Yurishia, Sylvia and Hayuru. Everyone."

It took the girls by surprise, but they didn't take long to answer.

"I love you too, Kizuna."

"I also love nii-sama."

"But I love Kizuna the most, since I was the first to fall for him."

"B-but I also love him a lot."

"Sylvia loves captain desu."

Then, a second passed in silence. Everyone turned to look at Reiri, and then she said.

"I-I… I also love you, Kizuna."

Reiri said as she threw herself at Kizuna. She hugged Kizuna and kissed him. Then, all the other girls embraced Kizuna as well, so he had to kiss every one of them.

By the end of it, Kizuna felt he would die from lack of air, but he was happy. He was happy he was able to express his feelings. It felt good, he thought he should start doing it more.

After some time, they gave in to the tiredness of the day and fell asleep.

… Well, not quite.

"Say, I know it wasn't in the plans, but we're all wearing these sexy sleepwears, Kizuna. Are you sure we should just sleep?"

Yurishia asked as if it was just a normal question.

"W-well, it's not that I wouldn't like to… but we're all tired, aren't we? Let's leave it for some other chance."

"Fufu, okay~ whenever you want to do it, just say the word."

Yurishia winked at Kizuna. It took all his will power to not give in right then, but they really had to go to sleep.

After that, they went to sleep, for real this time.

/

From what Kei had told Reiri yesterday, Nayuta had reserved a beach or something for Kizuna and the girls, and today was the day of that reservation.

Well, actually, it was an artificial beach made on the USA float, that's why it could be reserved in the first place. Kizuna thought it was a recreation of some famous beach, but he didn't know enough about the USA to make sure.

Kizuna and co felt like it was a bit too much, but since it was already done… they got their things ready and headed for the beach.

They arrived there at about 9 A.M. Kizuna went to change, and after he was done he waited for the girls to come out.

"Kizuna."

The girls didn't take long to come out. Considering what their sleepwear had been yesterday, Kizuna had a certain level of expectation for their swimsuits, and it didn't disappoint.

Unlike their sleepwear, which looked like the same design but on different sizes, each of the girls' swimsuits was different. Though that probably had to do with the fact that Nayuta had likely been the one to arrange their sleepwear, while Kizuna recognized some swimsuits from the time they went to a resort.

Sylvia was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit. Although she didn't have much to show, the swimsuit really did a nice work with what she had and making one raise his expectations. Grace was wearing a pink bikini without straps on the top. The piece of clothing clung to her skin, showing off all of her curves.

Aine, Hayuru and Yurishia wore bikinis with the colors silver, red and blue, respectively.

Both Aine and Yurishia's tops focused on emphasizing their breasts. Aine also chose a bottom that showed her curves. Yurishia focused solely on her breasts, but Kizuna had to be thankful for that, since he didn't know if he could handle it if she showed off all of her body.

Hayuru had always knows she couldn't compete with Aine and Yurishia on sheer size. That's why her bikini focused on showing off balanced proportions that didn't lose to the others' abundance.

Last was Reiri. She wore a black top and also a hat, on the bottom she wore a light blue sarong. Even with her bottom mostly covered, Reiri didn't lose to anyone.

Should there be anyone here today, they would certainly all be looking at the girls. But since Nayuta had reserved the place, only Kizuna could look at them.

"Wow, I don't even… you all look really good."

The girls giggled, and then they told him he also looked good.

They had the beach all to themselves, so it was a little hard to figure what to do with it. Kizuna decided to sit down for a while before going to do anything. Most of the girls decided to go for some kind of swimming competition, for some reason, but Reiri decided to stay and get a little bit of a tan.

"Kizuna, could you help me put sunscreen on my back?"

"Sure, nee-chan."

Reiri untied her top and laid down face first on a piece of cloth so Kizuna could put sunscreen on her. Kizuna put some of the cream on his hands and then started spreading it on her back.

"Nn,m."

The cream was a little cold, so Reiri was trying to not let her voice out. But Kizuna figured he should use that chance to play around.

Kizuna started tickling Reiri's back. She was holding back her voice at first, but soon enough she couldn't resist anymore.

"Ha,hahaha! K-Kizu,na ahaha, s-stop."

"Eeh, so nee-chan is really ticklish around here."

Kizuna kept tickling Reiri and at some point she decided to fight back. Normally, she would have to control herself, since her breasts would end up being seen, but Reiri was taking advantage that they were the only ones in the beach.

"Hahaha."

"Mm, haha."

They kept that up for a few minutes, but knew it was time to stop. Somehow, Kizuna had finished putting the sunscreen on Reiri, so she put her top back on and then applied the cream to the rest of her skin.

"Kizunaaa~"

Even without looking, Kizuna knew who was calling him. It was Yurishia's voice.

Behind her, Hayuru was saying something like "how could she be so fast with those big things?" but no one was able to hear it.

Yurishia wrapped her arm around Kizuna's and then told him.

"Let's go for a walk. We'll be back for lunch."

Yurishia winked. Aine looked a bit irritated and Grace was trying to calm her down. Sylvia had a look that seemed to say "I'll win next time desu!" Kizuna had no idea what happened, but he figured he should go with Yurishia.

For the most part, Kizuna and Yurishia just walked around while talking. It had been a while since he had spent some time alone with Yurishia, so this was a little refreshing.

"Fufufu."

Yurishia laughed a bit. While they walked, Yurishia hadn't let go of Kizuna's arm, and she made sure to press it against her breasts. Kizuna was not the least bothered, in fact, he enjoyed it.

After a while, they came by some rocks on the beach. If it was a normal beach, it wouldn't be strange, but seeing as this was artificial… maybe this was meant to be a spot for couples, or maybe it was just a recreation of some famous spot.

"Kizuna, let's go there."

Yurishia said, pointing at the rocks. Kizuna didn't object and followed her.

Once they were behind the rocks, which hid them from the view of the people who weren't there to begin with, Yurishia attacked Kizuna with a kiss, and he responded by embracing her.

Kizuna had his back pressed against the rock, but Yurishia was pressing her body on his. Their kiss continued until they had to breathe some air in.

"It's been such a long time since I've had Kizuna just for myself. But doing something like this in the beach is also romantic."

"Then I suppose you don't want to stop."

"Obviously."

They started kissing again. This time, they held each other even tighter.

"Mmh, nn. Kizuna~ I love you."

"N, chuu. I love you too, Yurishia."

Kizuna's hand somehow found its way to Yurishia's butt, but since she didn't seem to mind it, Kizuna decided to play with it to his heart's content. Yurishia herself even moved her top so her breasts were in direct contact with Kizuna's chest.

This was starting to become more than a kiss, but they were interrupted before anything more could happen.

"Oh, isn't that Yurishia? And Kizuna as well. Oii, what are you two doing here?"

Once they noticed the voice, they quickly fixed themselves so they wouldn't be caught. Though they didn't expect anyone here, apparently there were indeed other people, and from the voice alone…

"What are you doing here, Scarlet?" Yurishia asked. Not far behind Scarlet came the other Masters.

All of them were wearing swimsuits, and all of them were beautiful in their own way, but Kizuna still had his eyes stolen by Yurishia and the others.

"Oh, we were told this beach had been reserved to the teams who fought in the AU war and against Hypnos for today, so we came."

So Nayuta hadn't reserved the beach just for them, but rather for everyone who helped in those fights. Maybe she thought no one would show up, that's why Kizuna and co weren't told about it. Well, other than the Masters, all of the other teams were in Vatlantis, so at least there shouldn't be anyone else showing up.

Yurishia let out a sigh. It was impossible for her and Kizuna to continue like this, so she might as well go along with the Masters.

"Fine. Come on, I'll take you to where everyone is."

Scarlet and the other Masters started following after Yurishia. Kizuna did as well. Then, Gertude approached him and started talking.

"Sorry boss, we ended up getting in your way. Guess our leader was a bit dense."

"S-so you all saw? W-well, it's fine. By the way, nice swimsuit, Ger-san."

"D-don't say those damn embarrassing things so easily. B-but thanks anyway."

Well, Kizuna did miss a good chance, but he wasn't unhappy to see the Masters. If anything, he could play around with Gertude for a while, that was always fun.

After they went back to where Aine and the others were, the Masters officially joined the group. Since it was close enough to lunchtime, they started preparing and then had lunch together.

After that, everyone played a bunch of games together. At one point, there was a volleyball game between the Masters vs Amaterasu + Grace. There was also a time everyone went swimming. They made the most of their time.

Some time passed, Kizuna and the girls decided it was time to go back for the day. They left the Masters on the beach and went back to their hotel room.

/

On the way back, Grace saw something that interested her. She told Kizuna and Aine where she wanted to go and, since they had some time left, they went to that place after they washed themselves.

The place they went to was a theme park.

"Too bad nee-chan and the others were too tired to come."

"I guess."

"But I wanted to spend some time with nii-sama and nee-sama, so it ended up working out."

Grace had said something a bit rude, but Kizuna and Aine let it pass.

"Still, it's already pretty late, so I don't know how many rides we'll be able to go on before the park closes."

"It's fine, nii-sama. There's nothing like this in Vatlantis, so I'm happy with whatever we can go on."

Now that Kizuna thought about it, what she said was true. This should be Grace's first time in anything that resembled a theme park.

Aine made a suggestion. She said they had to go to the haunted house. Kizuna thought Grace would be a bit scarred, but she seemed a bit exited. Was Kizuna the only one bad with horror here?

They got their tickets and entered the haunted house. Maybe Aine and Grace were planning to both hold on to Kizuna's arms once the first scare came, since they kept close to him, one on each side.

"Buuu!"

And soon enough, that first scare did come.

""Kyaa-eh?""

Aine and Grace were ready to pretend to be scared and jump onto Kizuna's arms, but before they could do that, Kizuna put his arms around their necks. Since he couldn't just jump to their arms, Kizuna hugged them while he pretended he wasn't scared. The girls felt it was a bit strange.

"… Doesn't this feel wrong? To be hugged by nii-sama, and not hug him."

"Kizuna, could you be…?"

Kizuna didn't believe in ghosts or anything like that, he just wasn't good with horror. Still, he pretended he was completely fine until they got out of the haunted house, but he never let go of either of the sisters the whole way through.

"I don't mean to be ungrateful, I really liked being hugged by nii-sama, but…"

"Right. I was thinking we could press our breasts on Kizuna's arms the whole way through. It didn't feel bad being hugged, but it wasn't what I was thinking."

"Ha,haha" Kizuna nervously laughed. "S-say, how about we go there?"

Kizuna pointed to the Ferris wheel. Considering the time the line would take and then the ride itself, they likely wouldn't have time for anything else, but the girls agreed to go there.

Once they entered the Ferris wheel, Grace didn't hide her excitement. Then, they started moving, and Grace kept looking out the window.

"Wow, this is so beautiful."

Grace was like a little child that was visiting the theme park for the first time. Kizuna found that cute.

"Thanks for coming with me, nii-sama, nee-sama."

"Sure." "No problem."

… Well, it would still take a few minutes for them to come down, and there was something Kizuna wanted to do.

He got up, and then he placed a kiss on Grace's forehead and then on Aine's. Grace's face got a bit red with embarrassment, and Aine smiled like she just got some kind of treat.

Grace then hugged Kizuna, her face on his chest. Since this was a good opportunity, Aine hugged both of them.

"I guess things like these aren't bad once in a while."

"Agreed."

Once the ride ended, Kizuna, Grace and Aine decided it was time to go back home. The theme park was already closing, but maybe they should come again some other day, but with everyone.

/

And so a week passed with Kizuna and co on taking some time off on the USA float. He had to remember to thank his mother for giving them this time together, they hadn't had much free time since the AU war, so this was good for each of them and also for their relationship together.

Today, they were back on the airport. It was time to go back to Ataraxia.

Well, not for one of them.

"Sylvia, you sure you go everything? You're not forgetting anything?"

"Yes desu. Thanks for worrying about me captain, but Sylvia's fine desu."

Kizuna and the others were seeing Sylvia off. She wouldn't be going back to Ataraxia for a while.

It turns out that Nayuta had found Sylvia's family back in London. That was the other reason why they came to the USA float. It was closer to London than Ataraxia, so it was easier to fly from there.

Sylvia would spend some time with her family and then go back to Ataraxia. It shouldn't last for too long, but Kizuna was still worried even though there was no reason for him to be.

"Then, I'm going now, captain, everyone."

Kizuna and the girls waved Sylvia goodbye as they saw her get on the plane. Now was their turn.

This time, the Masters would be accompanying them on the plane, so it wouldn't be like the flight to the USA float, but it should still be fun.

"Kizuna, let's go."

Once they called for him, Kizuna accompanied the others into the plane. They left the USA float and were heading back to their normal lives.


	50. Thor

An Entrance opened, and from it came the God of Thunder himself, Thor.

"What does that woman want from me?"

Thor clicked his tongue, but he still continued doing what he was asked to. The woman he was referring to was his mother, Odin.

She had recently asked him for a favor, a simple one. She gave him coordinates to a certain world and asked him to investigate it and report whatever he found.

"Let's just get this over with."

The world Thor was looked completely destroyed. From what he could tell, it looked like the technology here had been really advanced before whatever happened to leave it destroyed like that.

Thor didn't know, but the world he was at was the one where Thanatos and Hypnos were originally born. Maybe if he knew that, he would be interested in how that world ended up that way. Or maybe he'd still ignore it.

Odin had done some investigations and somehow was able to find which world Thanatos and Hypnos were born in. While she tried to do her own investigation, she indirectly asked Thor to look at what he could find in this world.

Normally, such an investigation would take a long time, but it didn't seem to be the case this time. After all…

The world was so destroyed there was barely anything left, and Thor didn't see any kind of survivors, and it was unlikely they were hiding. There was just nothing to be found there, but since he was already there, Thor figured he could at least try to look around.

Thor messed around, and he found something that was at least a little interesting.

From what he could tell, it looked like that world's main energy source, at least while there was someone living there, came from another world. He couldn't tell how it worked, but it seemed to suck the life energy from another world and use it to power everything.

"… Maybe whatever caused this is on that other world?"

There was still somewhat of a connection remaining, so Thor opened an Entrance and checked out the world that served as power supply.

But there wasn't anything there either. The world was like a huge desert, but there didn't seem to be any living thing left.

"No, there's something…"

Thor checked around the desert world for a bit and found something that he didn't think could really count as living. From afar, they looked like humans, but once he got close Thor discovered they were actually mummies.

"A failed resurrection attempt? Not that I've ever seen a working one. … Jeez, I'm so bored I'm talking with myself."

If anything, Thor couldn't say he didn't discover anything. In that sense, the trip had already been productive.

The world where Thanatos and Hypnos were born used the desert world's life energy as power source. Because of that, the desert world started dying and, from the looks of it, someone tried to resurrect those that died, but it seems that he or she had failed.

The logical conclusion would be that whoever had tried to resurrect the dead decided to destroy the other world once they figured they couldn't. But Thor found a problem with that. The other world was still sucking on the empty pool of life energy from the desert world, so whoever had destroyed it didn't care enough to bring an end to that, that meant it couldn't be whoever tried to revive the people. But that was all Thor's speculation.

With all that said, Thor found all that to be in bad taste. Whether they knew or not, the people from Thanatos and Hypnos' world were powering their lives using the lives of others, so he figured that maybe they deserved whatever had happened.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to investigate the other world, so I'll go back now."

Thor opened an Entrance and went back to the world he was originally investigating.

While he moved rubble around, Thor didn't find anything else that seemed interesting. He doubted that Odin had send him here to find out about that desert world, but that was all he did find.

He figured it was about time he gave up. If Odin wanted anything else, she should come here herself.

Right before Thor was about to leave, he heard the sound of something falling, but he didn't pay much attention at first.

[Kyyaaaaa!"]

[S-someone help!]

But then he heard people's voices. He turned to the direction of the voices, but there wasn't anyone there.

Thor followed the sound to the source. There were a lot of people's screams and crashing noises. He took some rubble out of the way and found that the source of the sound came from something that was playing a video, though Thor didn't know exactly what it was.

If he had to say, this was certainly an interesting find. At least Thor should figure out how this world ended up like this.

[God, please, have mercy.]

[Nooo, I don't want to di-]

Before that person could finish their sentence, something crashed into them. Whoever it was, he or she had just died.

There was the sound of something like guns shooting. They seemed to hit their target, but that target wasn't harmed.

Then, the man who was the culprit behind everything was shown in the video. Thor didn't know about this, but it was the man who called himself Chronos.

He was wearing something that looked like armor, which was three times a normal man's size. There were four huge tubes on the back that seemed to store some kind of energy. The only part of Chronos that was shown was his head, but it seemed like he was protected by some kind of barrier.

On the chest plate of the armor, a glowing round object. That must have been what worked as the core for his powers.

[This doesn't feel half bad for a prototype. If I can get this much power from Hypnos and the other world's energy, maybe I should go around collecting energy from other gods, hahaha!]

[Shoot him!]

[What do you think we've been doing?!]

People that looked like they were from this world's army kept trying to shoot Chronos, but the barrier protected him. Then, Chronos extended his arm towards a building, and it came apart and its pieces shot towards the army men, killing them, along with anyone unlucky enough to be nearby.

[Hahahahahahaha! This feels great, great!]

Chronos didn't seem to have noticed yet, but Thor did. The armor didn't seem to have a good fuel consumption, so it should run out sooner rather than later. Well, from what Thor could tell, it would still be more than enough to wreak havoc in this world.

Chronos continued his wave of destruction. The video ended sometime after whoever was filming was caught by one of Chronos' attacks.

But now, Thor knew what Odin wanted him to find in that world.

"That man, whoever that was, he said something about Hypnos and collecting other gods' power. If this means what I think it means, then we haven't gotten rid of the root of the problem yet."

Thor picked up the thing that played the video and decided he should show this to Odin.

But, once he arrived in her world, he discovered that Odin had left to investigate something and had yet to come back. He asked, but no one knew where she had gone to.

"Shit."

This could be a problem if Thor didn't tell anyone. He could have told Nayuta and the others, but since he left early, he never learned where her world was.

Then, there was only one thing Thor could do. He had to get directions from someone, and there was one person he knew should know something.

"Mimir."

Of course, finding him wouldn't be easy, but it was better than moving between world in the dark looking for Nayuta and company.

He knew where Mimir liked to hide, or rather Odin had once told Thor that. For some reason, Mimir had a fear of being beheaded, so he usually hides himself in the most remote place possible.

Even knowing where to go, it still took Thor nearly a week to find Mimir. Thor was a bit irritated, but hopefully this wasn't a waste of time.

"Why do you have to live in the middle of nowhere?"

"Do you know how hard it is to love with constant fear of being beheaded?"

"I'll rip your head off myself if I ever have to make this trip again."

The old man with a long beard that was Mimir shook in fear from Thor's words. For as irritated as Thor was, he wouldn't kill Mimir… at least not until he got what he wanted.

"I want you to tell me… where's my mother? Also, I have a world I need you to tell me where it is."

There still hadn't been any news from Odin, but Thor didn't think she was dead. But, calmly thinking about the situation, he should inform Nayuta and the others first and then find his mother.

"A-all right, I'll tell you…"

Mimir told Thor what he knew. It sure was a convenient power.

Thor decided to go to Nayuta's world first. He moved as fast as he could, but…

"What… happened?"

What Thor saw, it reminded him of the world he was investigating. Could it be… he was too late?

Thor noticed signs of battle, so he headed in that direction.


	51. Note 6

**Been a while, heh.**

 **You may have noticed this batch isn't quite like I said it was going to be. Well, after reading the reviews for batch 5, I decided it was best to change a few things.**

 **For one, I followed basically everyone's recommendation to focus on the story, so I did. I planned to use this part 2 of the story to write some sex scenes and whatnot, but since everyone wanted me to focus on the story, I took out most of what wasn't plot-related.**

 **That ended up shortening the life-span of part 2, so we might finish the story on the next batch actually.**

 **I had to take out a lot of things I wanted to write, but I also like how things ended up. Hopefully I made the right choice.**

 **Now, lemme start commenting on what happened.**

 **First, the story of how Osiris got Kizuna revived. I had planned to post it in batch 2, but since it only really becomes important now in this latter part of the story, I delayed it until now.**

 **Well, originally it was a lot bigger, and since I didn't want to make a batch just for that, I trimmed it down as much as I could. Fun fact, the character I had Kizuna call Death is kind of a remnant of the planning stages of this fanfic. Basically, instead of gods, I was going to use embodiments of some things like death, love (which would be the source of Eros' power in that idea), and the like, but for many reasons I didn't go along with that idea.**

 **Still, I had Death show up here, and even found a way to call him Death since I couldn't be bothered to make up a name (I'm bad with naming, as I'm afraid you'll soon find)**

 **Second thing is I guess the little bit of filler in this batch. Since I basically didn't develop Kizuna's relationship with his harem, I at least wanted to try to do something about it now. I hope that it wasn't boring at least. I even tried dedicating a bigger chapter to them.**

 **Third are the Odin and Thor chapters. They are kinda like teasers for the next batch, but we'll get there once we get there.**

 **Also, maybe some of you noticed, but there might be a few inconsistencies with the earlier part of the story. Nothing too big, just stuff I planned to do that now I'm not going to, or stuff I didn't plan on doing that I ended up doing anyway.**

 **If you do find something that is inconsistent with what was presented earlier in the story, normally what is more recently is what'll be valid. I had to do a few changes with the story as we went along, so I hope you'll excuse me.**

 **If you want an example, in batch 2 or 3, I had Death (which at the time was a "mysterious character") say that he'd kill Kizuna once his job was done, but now I had Death say that Kizuna gets to live as long as he does his job. A whole lot of things changed regarding that part of the story, and even Death's role.**

 **But well, that's about it. Batch 7 might be the end of this story, so I hope to see you then.**


	52. Before

Let's go back a while before Thor came to Kizuna and the others' world.

Kizuna and everyone else were just living their normal lives. By now, they had already gotten used to the usual everyday again.

"Aaah, this should be fine for today."

After he finished his studies, Kizuna decided to head back to his room. After another long day of studying, he felt like he deserved a rest.

Well, actually, before going home, Kizuna wanted to visit Thanatos and her mother again. Apparently, there was some kind of news.

Kizuna soon reached the room where Thanatos and her mother were. Kizuna's own mother, Nayuta, was also there with them.

"Kizuna. Ah, did you come to see what we discovered?"

"Yes, kaa-san. I don't come all that often, but I guess I should try to come more, since she's Eros' creator and the mother of a good friend."

Thanatos got a bit embarrassed by what Kizuna said, but it wasn't really a lie. Kizuna asked what was the news, and he was also a bit curious about the new equipment that was in the room, he guess it had something to do with what they found out.

"Well, no matter what I tried, I just couldn't get Thanatos' mother to wake up. I was stuck without knowing what to do, when I remembered something. There should be something like a soul, right? I wondered if I could check that out, so I asked Osiris for some help. In the end, this new equipment was developed, and guess what."

"We found out that, although her body is 'frozen in time,' my mother's soul apparently isn't. Nayuta was playing around saying she was just like a ghost, but we're still not sure of anything."

Thanatos followed what Nayuta said. The idea of ghosts made Kizuna stutter a bit.

"G-ghost…"

Ignoring that last part, Thanatos' mother's body had been frozen in time by Chronos some time ago, but apparently her soul had been going about just fine? It really did seem like a ghost story. This made Kizuna remember he had heard a voice while he visited last time, but he couldn't really remember what he was told (and preferred not to think of it as a ghost trying to communicate).

"I-isn't that good? Since her soul is fine, it should be possible to eventually bring her back, right?"

"Right. There's the chance of making a new body and putting her soul there, similar to what we did to revive you, but preferably we'd just find a way to 'wake her up.'"

Kizuna also thought it would be best to just find a way to bring Thanatos' mother back. Thanatos herself also nodded in agreement.

But overall, this was a good thing. It looked like Kizuna was going to end the day with a little bit of good news.

Since there was nothing left for him there, Kizuna decided it was finally time to head to his room. Nayuta and Thanatos gave him their goodbyes as they saw him off.

"Oh yeah, now that I remember…"

Sylvia was still in London with her family, so obviously there was no one waiting for Kizuna when he got back. It's not like he thought it was her duty to wait for him, but he had already gotten used to it.

Sylvia usually send an e-mail every day to show Kizuna that she was enjoying her time with her family. She would be coming back in about four days, but, seeing how much she was enjoying it, Kizuna thought Sylvia should go back to London next she had a break. After all, it had been a while since she's met with her family.

Anyway, since Sylvia wasn't there, Kizuna had to take care of cooking and cleaning for himself. And, even if it only lasted for a short time, doing all that work himself only made Kizuna appreciate Sylvia's help even more. He should start helping out when he had a chance.

"*puff* F-finally done. That was more tiring than I expected. How does Sylvia manage this every day?"

Just like all the other nights since Sylvia went to London, Kizuna went to bed really tired. Luckily, he had stopped seeing those dreams from when he was being revived, so he felt like he got some proper rest.

A few seconds after lying down and closing his eyes, Kizuna fell asleep, bringing an end to that day.

/

Kizuna felt something soft against his skin. Not only that, he could also smell a sweet aroma around him.

He opened his eyes and, although he was still sleepy, it didn't take long for his brain to process the information he gathered.

"Good morning, Kizuna."

"Good morning, nii-sama."

The two sisters from Vatlantis, Aine and Grace, were lying down with Kizuna. It wasn't hard to guess that the sweet aroma Kizuna had smelled came from them. What's more, they were both wearing only their panties, meaning Kizuna could feel their soft parts against his skin.

Considering everything… there was no way Kizuna could over-react to that. It's not like it was ineffective on him, rather it was very effective, but he was well past the point of getting up from the bed all flustered and barely able to speak.

"Morning. Why are you two here? And how did you get in to begin with?"

"For the how… don't worry about it, nii-sama."

Kizuna couldn't help but be worried about it. Well, it should be fine, so he just let it go.

"As for the why, isn't it obvious? We came to spend some time with you before we have to go to Vatlantis."

So it was just what Kizuna expected. Well, he didn't dislike it, and there was no reason to refuse.

Grace had been acting as Vatlantis' Emperor for a while so Aine could finish her studies. Apparently, something had shown up that would need Aine to be there as well, so the two sisters would have to spend a few days in Vatlantis and had probably came to see Kizuna one last time before going.

Aine and Grace both approached Kizuna and kissed his lips. He had no idea how that worked or how they managed that, but, being the one kissed, Kizuna knew for a fact these sisters managed to kiss him at the same time. He had to say he was kind of impressed.

"That said, nii-sama took too long to wake up, so we're almost out of time now."

"Eh? I did?"

"Yeah. We've been trying to wake you for about an hour, but you only just woke up."

It was a weekend, so there wasn't any problem with oversleeping, but it wasn't Kizuna's style. He didn't really feel especially tired yesterday, so… maybe just random luck?

"S-sorry, Aine, Grace. At least let me see you two off."

The sisters nodded. They put their clothes back on while Kizuna took a quick bath and dressed himself. Once they were done, Kizuna accompanied them for as much as he could.

"Again, sorry, you two. I promise I'll make up for it some other time."

"It's fine, nii-sama."

"But since you want to make up for it, how about you come with us next time?"

Kizuna felt it wasn't a bad idea. He had already been there a few times, but it should be nice to accompany Aine and Grace on one occasion.

"Sure. Next time, I'll go along with you two."

And so Kizuna saw them off, waving them goodbye. Since he was already out, Kizuna figured he'd walk around for a while.

Since he hadn't eaten yet, Kizuna headed for a café were he could eat some breakfast, so he headed to the mall. To his surprise, he met Hayuru on the waiting line.

"Hayuru? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Kizuna. There were a few problems with my kitchen equipment, so I'm eating out today. What about you?"

"Well… I overslept, then I had to accompany Aine and Grace, so I figured I'd eat breakfast outside today."

This was unexpected, but it was better than eating alone. Kizuna decided to accompany Hayuru for a while.

"So, what are you going to do after this?"

"Even though it's a weekend, I have to head to the public morals committee, since there's still a lot of leftover work. But, while I have some time left… do you want to go on a… d-date?"

"Sure, let's just finish eating and we'll go."

Kizuna made Hayuru's red cheeks look like a joke when he answered so easily, but that was one of the things he found cute about her.

Once they were done eating, Kizuna and Hayuru headed out on a quick date. They walked around through the shopping mall, every now and then stopping to look at a few shops.

"… Alright, let's do it."

Hayuru muttered under her breath, then she told Kizuna she wanted him to go with her to a certain shop so he could help her. Of course, he agreed.

What he didn't expect was that Hayuru, of all people, would take him to a female underwear store.

"H-Hayuru, are you sure you need my help? Why are we even here to begin with?"

Even considering everything he had been through, Kizuna was still awkward around these places. Hayuru found that cute. Then, with all her pride, she proclaimed the reason why she had brought him to this shop.

"The truth is, I took my sizes one of these days, and it turns out my breasts got bigger. A full centimeter more of bust size. Haha, it won't be long before I've caught up, and since we were around, I thought I should already get prepared for what's to come."

So that was it. Kizuna thought that one centimeter more of bust wouldn't really get Hayuru caught up to Aine and Yurishia, who he guessed was who Hayuru wanted to catch up to, but he didn't want to be the one to pour cold water on her.

That being said, he didn't mind if Hayuru stayed just how she was, but he knew that if he voiced that out, Hayuru would snap at him.

Since he wanted to get out as soon as possible, probably because of the other girls in the shop glaring at him, amongst other reasons, Kizuna decided to just help Hayuru with what she wanted. Even so, Hayuru still tried out a few designs, so it still ended up taking some time.

But then, Kizuna was saved when two girls from the public morals committee noticed Hayuru.

"Oh look, it's Hayuru."

"Eh, so she's having her boyfriend pick some underwear for her? Ah, it's fine, you know, you can skip the committee today if you want, we'll cover for you."

"W-wait, it's not like that!"

Hayuru kept trying to convince the girls that they were wrong, but they just jolted out saying "it's fine, just enjoy your date."

"A-ah! Kizuna, sorry, but I have to run after them before things get too out of hand."

Hayuru quickly put her own clothes back on and then dashed out after the other two girls. Kizuna was left awkwardly alone in the store.

"… In the end, I ended up buying the underwear, didn't I?"

Being left there alone, Kizuna just took what Hayuru was trying on to the store clerk, bought it and left the store. Even he couldn't properly explain why he did that.

Kizuna left what would now become a gift for Hayuru on his room and then headed out to kill some time.

/

"And you got the idea to come to my room how exactly?"

"W-well, I just thought it would be best to eat lunch together. Don't you think so, nee-chan?"

Kizuna killed some time doing mostly nothing. When it came time for lunch, Kizuna decided to drop by Reiri's room for some reason. Luckily, she was home and let him in.

Reiri seemed to be working on something. He said that he'd leave if he was being a bother, but Reiri said he could stay.

"I was just going to order something, but since you're here, I guess I can try to cook something."

"Nee-chan's cooking?"

She used to cook for him during the time they lived together. It was never the best food in the world, but Kizuna always thought it was better than most.

"Yeah. It's been a few years since the last time, but I should still be able to do something."

Reiri had stopped cooking after she and Kizuna stopped living together. She preferred the practicality of ordering something. Even so, she figured it would be fine, and even Kizuna felt like helping out.

They thought it would be fine… until the point where something happened and the food exploded on their faces. How did that even happen? Luckily, the food wasn't hot, so it didn't leave them with burn or anything. But their clothes were completely dirty.

"Shit! Let's put these to wash while we figure the rest out."

Reiri and Kizuna took off their clothes and were left with just their underwear. They took the excess food off and then put their clothes to wash, which would take some time, then they headed back to the kitchen.

"Sorry Kizuna, I ended up just getting us dirty and wasting food."

"No, nee-chan. We are dirty, but the food isn't wasted yet."

Kizuna kissed Reiri's cheek, but while he did that, he ate the food that was on her cheek. It shouldn't really harm them if they ate it even like that.

Reiri understood Kizuna's idea and also kissed him and ate the food covering his face. Once they were done, their lips met and they had a passionate kiss for a while.

"Nn, mmh."

"N, chhu."

Since they were left with just their underwear, they could feel a lot of the other's body. They only broke the kiss once they needed to take in some air.

"I guess our faces are clean now. Let's clean the kitchen and, after that, we're taking a bath."

"Yes, nee-chan."

They did clean the kitchen and then took a bath together. Coincidently, they got out of the bath at the same time their clothes finished getting washed. Reiri could just pick up any of her clothes, but Kizuna had to wait until his finished getting dry.

So Kizuna and Reiri waited a while. Reiri got some of her work done, but she still focused mostly on Kizuna while he was there. After Kizuna was able to put his clothes back on, they ordered some food and had lunch for real.

"I guess I shouldn't bother nee-chan anymore, so I'll be going now."

"Ah… fine, but come by again some other day. Just tell me beforehand."

Reiri didn't want Kizuna to go just yet, but she really had a lot of work to do, so she had to compromise. Kizuna said his goodbyes and went off.

/

"Hii, Kizuna."

"Yurishia?"

Kizuna was surprised when he arrived back at his room and found out Yurishia had somehow made her way in. Considering Aine and Grace had also "entered" this room just this morning, Kizuna thought he might have to invest on a new lock, and maybe some kind of security system.

Yurishia quickly explained why she was in Kizuna's room (but when she was asked how she got in she just said "it's a secret~" while winking.)

Basically, ever since they came back to this world, Osiris had been living with Yurishia, since they were already used to that setup. But today, Osiris said she'd spend the night somewhere else, so Yurishia was left by herself.

"But after living with someone for so long, I got lonely very quick, so I decided to sleep here tonight."

Kizuna didn't really mind, and he himself was a bit lonely without Sylvia around, so he appreciated the company for tonight.

Since Yurishia was there, Kizuna wanted to go out and eat something, but she offered to cook instead, saying she couldn't lose to Sylvia. Kizuna offered some help, but Yurishia told him she would be fine alone.

"Wow, Yurishia is actually really good at cooking."

"Right? If you want, I can come over while Sylvia is away."

Kizuna took that mostly was a joke, but he didn't know if Yurishia really meant it. She really was good, Yurishia really didn't lose to Sylvia when it came to cooking.

After that, Yurishia helped Kizuna with the usual daily house tasks he had yet to do. They even got a bit exited and did more tasks then they needed to. Sylvia expected to find this place really dirty when she got back, but, if it depended on Yurishia, that wouldn't be the case.

When they finished, it was well into the night, so all that was left now was to go to sleep.

"I'll let you change now. Just call me when you're ready."

"Okay."

Kizuna let Yurishia use the bedroom to change into her sleepwear. Although it hadn't been more than a few days since their trip to the USA float, Kizuna felt exited by the idea of sleeping with Yurishia.

After a few minutes…

"You can come in, Kizuna."

Kizuna entered the bedroom. What he saw made his jaw drop.

"I guess these weren't for me? I thought they were, but the size is small, so they don't fit."

Yurishia was trying to put on the underwear Kizuna had bought for Hayuru earlier that day. Kizuna had seriously forgotten all about that. The size was too small for her, so the clothes weren't properly put on.

The bra cup could barely hide Yurishia's pink nipple, and it was impossible to put both sides on, meaning one of her breasts was just left exposed. The panties couldn't go much pass Yurishia's thighs, so her whole bottom was just left there for Kizuna to see.

Yurishia just started taking the underwear off. "Well, it doesn't matter. I was planning on going nude anyway," she commented as she got naked.

"Wait, didn't you bring any sleepwear?"

"No. I figured I wouldn't need it anyway."

Somehow, Kizuna felt like he should have expected something like this. He went to his wardrobe to pick a shirt and hand it to Yurishia.

"Kizuna, you didn't get it yet? Let's take this chance and do it."

"While I would like to take the offer, we have classes tomorrow, and I know for a fact we wouldn't be able to pay attention if we did do it tonight. We'd either stay up all night and miss school or we'd somehow get up on time, but we wouldn't be able to concentrate. And, unfortunately, my grades don't allow for either."

Kizuna wasn't lying. If Yurishia had come last night with this same offer, Kizuna might have very well taken it. It was just a matter of poor timing.

Although putting, Yurishia did pick up Kizuna's shirt and put it on. Though she refused to button it, so it really didn't help Kizuna. Even so, she gave up on the idea of them having sex that night, when Kizuna asked why, she said that there would still be a lot of time for that in the future, but Yurishia didn't want to get separated from Kizuna because he got bad grades.

"Then, how about this: I'll teach Kizuna. While you're studying, you can touch my body and do whatever you want, so you'll be able to associate what you're feeling to what you're studying. How about it?"

Kizuna almost fell into temptation thinking 'that could probably work' but he was able to resist his urges. "Let's just go to sleep" Kizuna said as he turned off the lights.

Although, Yurishia still wasn't satisfied, so she made one final offer: "then, kiss me until I fall asleep."

Kizuna knew how dangerous it was, but even he couldn't resist anymore. He agreed to that.

"Nnh~"

"Mmnh."

Just as expected, their skin making contact made it a lot harder to resist. However, Kizuna still somehow managed to hold out and made it through the night.

Though he barely got any sleep, since Yurishia pretended to fall asleep, waited for Kizuna to go "relief some stress" and then offered him a hand. Kizuna was at his limit, so he accepted the "help," but it didn't end with just "lending a hand."

Somehow, Kizuna was able to keep his chastity that night. He didn't know if that was lucky or unlucky, but Yurishia gave up when Kizuna was about to give in.

As for how school went… it doesn't matter, since the next day had a huge surprise waiting for everyone.


	53. Arrival

Momo was a girl from the research and engineering department, but currently she was taking care of a job that had nothing to do with that.

There was a person who usually took care of taking food to Hypnos, after all they couldn't just let him starve. However, that person was sick today, and it somehow became Momo's job to cover for that person.

"It should be simple and quick enough, so let's just get this over with."

Momo was taking a food tray with Hypnos' food on it. She didn't take long to reach his "prison cell" and enter it.

Although… that second that took to enter the cell… somehow felt… longer? Maybe it was just her imagination.

"Here's your-"

Before Momo could finish her sentence, her head was slammed against the wall. She instantly lost consciousness, and the wall was stained with her blood.

"Long time no see, Hypnos."

"… Chronos."

Hypnos slowly raised his head to look at Chronos' face. An evil smile took form on Hypnos' face.

"Come on, get me free. They're not expecting anything right now, so if I attack them-"

"It is true that they are unprepared and aren't expecting an attack right now… alright, I'll set you free, Hypnos."

Chronos got closer to Hypnos. He quickly checked out his condition and, once he had the results, he told Hypnos to prepare himself.

Then, before Hypnos even had time to think, Chronos' arm went straight through his chest. But, different from when Hypnos did it, Chronos' arm was covered in Hypnos' blood, and his hand held a shining core.

"Wha-why?!"

"Ah, don't get me wrong. I still wanted to have you go around collecting other gods' powers, but the way they blocked your powers would take too long and just be too much of a hassle to undo. We had a good run together, but this is where we part ways."

Chronos retracted his hand and Hypnos fell to the ground, his strength was all gone. Hypnos would only live for a few more seconds, so Chronos decided to show him something good.

Chronos opened his coat and showed his chest plate. He took out the core in the middle and put Hypnos' core there instead. The second that connection was established, something could be felt around all of Ataraxia, maybe even the world.

"A-aaaahh! Aaaaaaaaa!"

The lights started flickering on and off. Even the system that was blocking Hypnos' power stopped working. Once the power stabilized itself, only the red emergency lights came on.

"Well then, I think I'll go play around with these new powers, and maybe even get a few more. Goodbye, Hypnos."

The last sight Hypnos saw in life was Chronos walking out of the cell that was imprisoning Hypnos. The last thing Hypnos felt was pure anger and hate.

/

"What the hell is happening?!"

[We're still trying to figure that out, Reiri.]

Everyone in the command room was panicking. They all felt something, and then power went out in all of Ataraxia. Just what could have happened?

"Wait, the camera is back on."

Nayuta said and everyone focused on what was being shown. It was the camera inside Hypnos' cell.

What was shown to them was Chronos leaving the room, leaving Hypnos' body and an unconscious Momo behind. It didn't take long for Nayuta to recognize him from Thanatos and Eros' memories, and it took her even less time to spring up.

"Call Kizuna and whoever else can fight. Tell them to get ready quick, I'll buy as much time as possible."

But, before Nayuta could leave the room, her daughter, Reiri, stood on her way.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"I still have a little bit of my powers left, remember? I should be able to buy even if it's just a little bit of time."

"But you'd die. I won't allow it."

"Oh, I thought you'd like it even more like that."

"Normally yes, but some time ago, Kizuna told me you've been making an effort to make amends, and that I should help out. I've been putting it off, but I think I'll get started on it now."

Nayuta was really surprised. After she became a goddess, she had been trying to make up for her mistakes in the past, but she never thought Reiri would really accept her. Nayuta was happy, but she felt now wasn't the time for that.

But before she could say anything, Reiri took the word.

"I know what you're thinking. Between the, I guess around 15 seconds you'd be able to buy with your current power or your mind helping to find a solution for this problem, I'd say your mind is much more valuable. Besides, Kizuna would get sad if I threw you out to die."

"… Fine, but if we need more time, I won't step down next time."

Nayuta gave in to Reiri. She hadn't lied when she said Nayuta's intelligence was currently more important than her power, but maybe it was also because Kizuna wouldn't be the only one sad with Nayuta's death.

"Alright people, let's get to it. If we lose, we die, so I hope everyone is ready for one hell of a fight."

'But seriously, I only gave Osiris a night off, how did everything go so wrong until this point? And where is she anyway? Why hasn't she come back?' Nayuta thought to herself. She was starting to regret giving Osiris some time off.

/

"Oh…"

Before Chronos even left the Nayuta lab, there was someone who stood in his way. That person was Thanatos.

"I remember you. Do you remember me… Thanatos, was it?"

"Yeah, I do."

Thanatos had her mechanical arms ready for combat. Granted, she hadn't done Heart Hybrid with Kizuna, so her strength was still very much limited to the small amount of divine power Hypnos hadn't stolen from her.

Even so, she didn't look like she planned on backing down even if she could only barely fight.

"I guess it should be fun, testing my new powers on the former strongest goddess. But I didn't expect you to be so dumb to show up in front of me, or was it just bad luck?"

"No, I came knowing you were here. And I don't believe I can win alone. Even so, I can fight even if it's just for a little bit."

Thanatos readied herself for a fight, and Chronos barely looked like he minded her being there. As she was, she shouldn't be much of a challenge.

Thanatos tried focusing her energy to shoot it at Chronos, but she had so little power left in her, even if it hit him, it barely made any damage. She also tried attacking with her arms, but Chronos didn't even mind that.

Using all the strength of her mechanical arms, Thanatos tried to crush Chronos between them. But, thanks to Hypnos' core, Chronos' strength now far surpassed Thanatos' current power, so he easily held her arms in place.

"Such a shame. I was thinking about stealing your remaining power, but it seems to be so little it's more trouble than it's worth. Maybe you can count that as your luck."

"!"

Chronos started crushing Thanatos' mechanical arms. There was so much pressure she felt her real arms might get crushed as well. Then, he lifted her by one of her arms and started swinging her around.

"Gah! Aah!"

Thanatos body was being slammed against the walls and ceiling. Blood was coming out from wherever it could. From the pain Thanatos was feeling, maybe there was also some internal bleeding.

After a few seconds, Chronos threw Thanatos' body away.

"That should be enough. You'll probably survive, if you can get help that is."

Chronos was about to walk away, but then he was hit by a missile. It didn't do any damage worth talking about, but it seemed that there were more challengers.

Just then, someone went past Chronos. He had noticed her, but didn't really bother with stopping her. He thought fighting Thanatos could be interesting, but he didn't really care about these new girls. He knew they were related to Thanatos and Eros' user, but he didn't really care about them.

"How is she, Ger-san?"

"She's really beaten up, but she should be fine once she gets medical attention. By the way leader, since when have you been using the damn nickname boss made up?!"

Gertude had picked up the fallen Thanatos and brought her to Scarlet and the other Masters. They had gotten ready before Kizuna and the rest of Amaterasu, so they came to save Thanatos.

"Alright. Girls, let's keep her safe. I'm gonna hit this guy with everything I have!"

Scarlet showed even more of the missile launchers on her back. It wasn't on the level of when she did Connective Hybrid with Kizuna and Yurishia, but it was still much stronger than her usual attacks.

She shot a full barrage of missiles at Chronos all at once. But then he simply held up his palm and the missiles stopped in mid-air.

The Masters were stunned. They didn't expect the attack to kill Chronos, but also didn't expect him to stop the missiles with barely any effort. As for Chronos, he seemed annoyed.

"As I thought, there's no one here that can provide a challenge. Maybe I should have given them some prep time and have Eros and Thanatos power each other, maybe that would work as an infinite power source for me. Oh well, nothing can be done about it now."

With a flick of Chronos' hand, the missiles changed directions. The Masters protected Thanatos and themselves as much as possible, but a good chunk of the Nayuta lab was blown up, sending everyone flying out.

Chronos came out of the explosion looking like nothing had happened with him. He looked towards the city and took a step towards it when someone called him.

"Hey, you big idiot!"

He turned around to look. It was the Masters, and Thanatos was also there along with them. They were all pointing their fully charged weapons towards Chronos, even Thanatos was pointing her mostly damaged arms even though she looked like she was feeling a lot of pain.

"Eat this!"

They all shot at once. Maybe it was because of Thanatos' power mixed it, but that attack seemed a lot stronger than the previous ones. Chronos guarded himself with a barrier.

The attack died out. Chronos' barrier was shattered in places, but it wasn't broken. The Masters and Thanatos looked tired, but they still worked up whatever energy they had left.

"Not yet! Come on, let's keep it up!"

Some of the Masters rushed forward while Gertude and Scarlet were supporting them from behind. Thanatos seemed to be focusing her energy for something.

Of course, for as much fighting spirit those girls had, their power simply wasn't enough to fight Chronos. He let two of them come close, and then hit them with an energy blast at point-blank range.

"Gyaa!"

"Aaah!"

Chronos' energy was so concentrated it easily broke through the Heart Hybrid Gear's barrier. Forget about burned clothes, after that attack, permanent burn scars would be the best outcome for those girls.

Their skins were scorched black. They needed medical attention quick, otherwise they might not survive.

"H-hey, get up! Don't you dare die here!"

"Y-you! I'll kill you!"

The other two Masters who had rushed towards Chronos came into range now. Scarlet and Gertude's attacks weren't much more bothersome than mosquitoes.

"Get back!" Scarlet tried shouting out, but it was too late.

Chronos picked one of the girls by the leg and then swung her against the other girl. Their barriers shattered and blood spilled from their mouth.

Then, he picked one of them up by the head and slammed it against the other's face. Those girls beautiful faces were now just bloody messes. Chronos would have hit them more, but Scarlet put her thrusters on full power and slammed into him.

"Waaaa!"

They ended up going into the city. The civilians panicked around them. Chronos acted before Scarlet could even think about how to take the fight out of the city.

"Thanks for the trip, here's your reward!"

With one movement from each of Chronos' hand, the people and the objects around the area started floating. They then stopped and pointed towards Scarlet.

"Waah!"

"H-help!"

Then, Chronos used his powers to throw these people and things in Scarlet's direction.

Scarlet had to do something quick. She used and manipulated her Heart Hybrid Gear's barrier to protect as many civilians as she could. But that left her defenseless, so she was hit by each and every one of the objects.

"Guh!"

Some objects just hit against Scarlet's body, others were able to pierce through. But both were thrown at such speed that it left her gravely injured.

In the end, she managed to save as many people as she could, but came out really hurt. She wasn't going to stay conscious for long.

"Hoh, that was quite something. Most people were saved. Nobody's perfect, so don't mind those who died. Any comments?"

"You know, this is really painful and I feel like I'm about to faint at any moment. But, considering I expected to be dead by now, I think I'm doing kinda good."

Scarlet played it was a joke, but was Chronos serious? Did she fail to save someone? That would explain all the commotion around her and the pool of red blood. It was certainly possible, she couldn't save everyone, but even so… that fact was going to weigh on her mind.

Scarlet's breath was out of rhythm. She was breathing, but it was somewhat painful. She was probably going to lose consciousness soon.

"Well, then-!"

Chronos was about to launch another attack, but he stopped. The reason was that giant mechanical arms, Thanatos' arms, grabbed him from behind.

Thanatos let go of the mechanical arms, detaching them from herself, then Gertude came at full speed and took her and Scarlet out of range. A second after, the arms blew up with Chronos right in the center.

"Did that do it?"

"No. I put all I had into it, but that won't do much more than buy us a few seconds."

Gertude clicked her tongue. Considering everything, she was the only fighting force present. Even if she was weak, she had to hold out even if just a bit more, she had to put all their hopes on Kizuna and the others.

The smoke blew out, Chronos came out of it looking mostly unharmed.

"That stung a little, you know."

"Gah!"

With a flick of his wrist, Chronos send Gertude flying into a building. Then, he made the building behind Thanatos and Scarlet crumble down on them. Thanatos managed to shove Scarlet out of the way, but she wasn't able to completely save herself.

"Aah, guuh!"

"I told you a little while ago I'd let you live, but it doesn't seem like you want to, so…"

Considering all the damage she had taken until now, it was impressive how much Thanatos was holding out with basically no power. But that was coming to an end.

Chronos used his powers to press one of the building's debris on Thanatos. Obviously, she didn't have the physical strength needed to hold the debris, but luckily for her, Chronos soon stopped trying to crush her and threw away the debris.

Instead, he took a few steel beams and used his powers to make them more like skewers. Then, he send them flying at Thanatos. That would have been the end for her, shouldn't she have a savior.

"Watch out!"

Gertude came back and shoved Thanatos out of the way. She managed to save Thanatos and almost dodged all of the steel skewers. Almost. One of them pierced straight through her left leg, one didn't need to be a specialist to say that it must have hurt.

It pierced right through the center, damaging the bones, muscles and tendons of her leg on such a level that, even if she got medical treatment soon, Gertude might not recover from this.

Gertude couldn't stand up anymore. It could even be considered a miracle her leg was still attached to her body, but the bleeding was really bad and the pain was something Gertude never imagined possible.

"G-gaaaah! Uuuaa! D-damn, this hurts!"

"You're too noisy."

Chronos took one of the steel skewers on his own hands. "Just shut up" he said.

But before he attacked, Gertude somehow managed to aim her gun and shoot a charged shot at the core on Chronos' chest. He wasn't expecting an attack, so he had no defenses.

But even so, all it did was hit the core. Chronos felt it heat up a bit, but it started to cool down before it became dangerous. It wouldn't have been funny if he was defeated this easily.

"Too bad. Now die."

Before Chronos could silence Gertude, something landed right between them and protected her with a barrier. Then, Chronos was hit with an energy shot from somewhere. The attack held enough power to send him flying.

"Sorry we're late, Ger-san."

Gertude didn't take long to recognize her protector. It was none other than Kizuna, and along with him came Yurishia, who had just shot at Chronos, and Hayuru. Those were the three members of Amaterasu currently on Ataraxia.

"Boss, what took you so damn long?" Gertude said, but she looked more peaceful now. Maybe having Kizuna and the others around gave her some sense of security.

But there was a good reason why Kizuna and company had taken so long to show up. One could feel it in the aura coming from them. There wasn't enough time for a Connective Hybrid, unless they had happened to be in the middle of one just before this, but this is more than a Kisscharge Hybrid. Maybe Kizuna kissed both Hayuru and Yurishia at the same time and that resulted in a Connective Kisscharge Hybrid? Gertude didn't care, and likely no one did, as long as that meant they could fight.

"Hold on," Hayuru gave Gertude some first aid, but the best she could do was put pressure on the wound. No one wanted to think about what would happen if Gertude and the other injured people didn't get the proper medical attention soon.

"… He's back for more," Yurishia pointed. If one followed, they would be able to see Chronos standing there.

Kizuna took the first aid kit Hayuru was holding. He said he was going to join them as soon as he took care of the civilians and the injured. Yurishia and Hayuru nodded and rushed to attack Chronos.

Yurishia shot at Chronos again, but this time he blocked it with a barrier. But Hayuru circled behind him and swung her sword.

"Ha!"

"Hum, you two are stronger than the last ones, but still not enough."

Chronos held his palm towards Hayuru and the barrier closed itself around Chronos, completely covering and defending him. Hayuru clashed against the barrier, but she couldn't break through it.

"Not yet!"

Hayuru send out her Blades and used them to attack Chronos' barrier along with her sword. But she still couldn't break through it.

But then, Chronos felt a huge amount of energy being aimed at him. It wasn't coming from Hayuru so…

"Fire!"

Yurishia had used her Differential Frames to shoot at the same time as her main weapon. Then, she shot a huge amount of energy at once. Hayuru was just a distraction and her attacks weakened the barrier enough. Hayuru moved out of the way and Chronos was hit head on, the shot broke right through the barrier.

However, Chronos was mostly unharmed, save for a few burned spots on his clothes. Really, this was just too much.

"Looks like I can't really afford to play around."

Hayuru clicked her tongue, but there was only one thing they could do: fight. She attacked with her Blades again, trying to make another opening for Yurishia. Chronos defended with his barrier again, but… it felt somewhat different.

"This one isn't going to break. I underestimated you two last time, but that won't happen again."

Chronos took control over the Blades. Hayuru parried them using her sword, but she was going to need help soon enough.

But Yurishia took advantage of Chronos distraction while dealing with Hayuru. She stealthily approached him and then combined her cannons and Differential Frames into one, then she fired one concentrated shot of energy towards Chronos.

"!"

The barrier was destroyed, but that was all she managed to do. Yurishia jumped back to where Hayuru was and Hayuru got rid of the Blades. She swung her sword at Chronos' chest plate a few times, but she couldn't cut much further than the outer layer.

She didn't know at the time, but that would help the next people to fight. Hayuru then retreated back to where Yurishia was.

"Hey, did you just use me as a distraction?"

"I was betting that, if he wasn't fully concentrated on the barrier, it would get weaker. I was right, but I just didn't have enough power to break through the barrier and hit him. And it looks like he's going to reinforce it even more."

Although a bit annoyed, Hayuru couldn't really deny that tactic. But it still wasn't enough, and their goal would only get further away the longer they took.

"Now, it's my turn."

Chronos focused his energy and then shot it at the girls. They united their barriers, but there were still cracks showing on it, and it would soon break down.

"Let me help."

Kizuna came back and used his barrier to reinforce theirs, and they somehow managed to hold out. The girls shouted "Kizuna!" clearly happy to see him.

"Did you already finish helping everyone?"

"Yeah. I had a lot of help, so things got done fairly quickly."

Chronos looked a bit exited to see Kizuna. Almost as if he had been waiting for it.

"Since Eros is here now, I guess I might as well. Let's see just how much I can do with all this power!"

Suddenly, the whole Earth started shaking.

/

The support crew had just finished helping Kizuna and came back to the command room, and now everything was shaking. Just what was happening?

"The results just came in!"

Someone shouted. Reiri, Nayuta and Kei analyzed said result.

There were seismic and volcanic activities happening around the globe. The oceans were also acting strange. Tsunamis were happening on nearly every costal area. It didn't take much to figure who was behind all of this.

"I know he has a core that holds the powers of multiple gods, but just how overpowered is this guy?!"

Nayuta shouted out. Then, the biggest tremor yet hit them.

"Gyaah!"

"Aaah!"

No one could stand up. Nayuta kept thinking to herself, wondering what was Chronos doing now.

Suddenly, it hit her.

"Everyone, hold on to-!"

Before Nayuta could finish speaking, Chronos did what he planned on doing.

The big tremor that made everyone fall was Chronos lifting the Ataraxia float from the ocean. Then, he launched the float. There was no way to know if they had landed back on the ocean or if they landed on top of some country, but one thing was for sure, there would be a lot of victims from this.

No one in the command room was left standing, not even Nayuta. The ones that got off easy would just have some bleeding and cuts to deal with, but most people had fractured bones and some kind of internal damage that needed medical attention. But everyone was unconscious.

The thing is, this kind of situation wasn't happening only on the command room. Ataraxia as a whole was launched by Chronos, so obviously there wasn't a single person left in perfect state, to say the least.

Unless they had a savior from outside, this would be their end.

/

"Guah!"

Kizuna spat out some blood. Not even he nor Yurishia or Hayuru were able to defend themselves from such an attack.

"Are… where are you? Hayuru, Yurishia."

"H-here, Kizuna. I can also see Yurishia"

Hayuru was the one to answer. Maybe thanks to the body he got once he was revived, Kizuna wasn't as bad as everyone else (not that he was in any condition to fight now). Kizuna did his best and moved toward Hayuru's voice.

There were some debris on top of Hayuru, but Kizuna moved them out of the way even though it took all of his strength. Hayuru's Neros had deactivated, it probably had used nearly all of its energy just to make her survive.

Even so, Hayuru was far from being in perfect shape. For one, her right arm was broken and she seemed to have a lot of internal damage. And that was just what Kizuna could see.

Still, maybe because of the adrenaline or something, Hayuru didn't seem to be in much pain right now, so Kizuna decided to not remind her of that.

"Are you fine?"

"Depends on what you consider fine. But go check on Yurishia before anything else. She's not responding."

Hayuru used her left hand to point towards Yurishia, and that's where Kizuna went. Yurishia's head was bleeding a lot, her beautiful golden hair was now tinged with red and her Cross had also deactivated.

Kizuna checked Yurishia's state. She was still breathing, so that's a plus. Maybe she had just hit her head really hard and lost consciousness. Kizuna hoped it was just that.

"Hum? Oh wait, Eros and Thanatos hadn't powered each other, had they? I guess I exaggerated a bit. Oh well, doesn't really matter."

Chronos had commented to himself, maybe he had lost Kizuna and company from his sights. It was clear he didn't really care about who lived and who died. Kizuna wanted to do something, but he couldn't fight as he was. Unless…

Then, an Entrance opened on the sky. Before Chronos could properly notice it, a spear came flying toward him. It pierced his chest, missing his heart by a few centimeters. The only reason why it was able to pierce him so easily was because much of the outer layer of the chest plate was gone.

"Guh! Wait, this lance!"

Chronos, and also Kizuna, immediately recognized the lance. It was none other than Gungnir. Meaning…

A second later, Odin landed right in front of Chronos.

"You! But how?"

"Does it really matter?"

Odin summoned another lance and the one that pierced Chronos disappeared. She charged straight at him.

Kizuna felt bad for leaving Odin alone, but he first needed to get Hayuru and Yurishia somewhere safe. Then, he was going to come back and fight. He was going to use Osiris' power, just like when he fought Hypnos.

Odin was continually attacking Chronos. Unlike before, he couldn't play around when fighting a god.

"I noticed something" Odin started. "Since you didn't take the core into your body, that means you're still human. Since you're still human, you need to keep the thing that gives you power protected. But, also because you are still human, there is a limit to how much you can do."

Odin fainted going after Chronos leg just to switch targets. She aimed his left eye. Her attack made contact and Chronos finally took some real damage.

"Guaah! You!"

Amongst Chronos' powers was regeneration, Odin knew that since it was her power. It would only be a matter of a few seconds for his eye to be restored. But right now, a few seconds were like an eternity.

Odin used Chronos' new blind spot to attack. Her objective now was the core on his chest. Unfortunately, Chronos took a step back, making Odin's attack scratch Chronos' chest plate, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the core.

Even so, Odin made sure to keep pressing Chronos with her speed. Even if he had the power to defend, there was only so much Chronos' human body could react to.

That's why Chronos chose to make a barrier around him. But Odin just stood there in front of him and took a deep breath.

"Ha!"

In a flash, Odin attacked the barrier. A loud clashing noise rang out. There were already cracks in the barrier. Odin repeated the attack two more times and Chronos' barrier came crashing down.

But he obviously didn't just stand there doing nothing. As soon as the barrier came down, Chronos shot his energy at Odin. By now, he had fully recovered, so Odin couldn't make use of his blind spot.

But that didn't stop Odin from attacking. When she did, Chronos caught Gungnir, but then it quickly vanished and another one appeared on Odin's hands.

She swung it diagonally, missing Hypnos' core by a hair's breadth. Sparks flew out of the chest plat, the inner circuits now exposed.

"Damn you!"

Chronos punched Odin's stomach, and that send her flying back a few meters. Before she could recover, Chronos landed another punch on her face, this time charged with energy.

Half of Odin's face was burned and she looked like she was about to give in to fatigue. No one knew that, but Odin hadn't recovered from her previous fight since, much like Thanatos' mother, her body was also frozen in time.

But Chronos didn't let her fall. He held her by the head and popped his fingers in her eye sockets as he charged his arms with energy.

"How do you like this?"

"Gaaah!"

"Now, you'll get out of my way for good- bah!"

Before he could finish Odin, someone delivered a punch to Chronos' face, making him let go of Odin. The one who landed the attack was none other than Kizuna.

He was stronger than normal, but he hadn't gotten the hang of activating Osiris' powers in him yet. Even so, he was going to have to work with what he had.

"Eros, I thought you'd be dead by now."

"I won't lose, not after all this!"

Kizuna tried to attack Chronos. Maybe Kizuna's rage was starting to get to him, since he didn't really plan the attack and that just ended up with Chronos grabbing Kizuna by the leg and swinging him around. Kizuna was hit against the ground multiple times until Chronos felt satisfied.

"Finally. Now, there isn't going to be anyone in the way."

"I wouldn't count on it. I just got here, after all."

As soon as Chronos turned towards the voice, he was hit with a "thunder punch" as he thought was the best way to describe it. Chronos felt like shouting out, just how many times had he been stopped just before the killing blow now?

The one who had punched Chronos this time was Thor. He had just arrived and seen this world's state and came to where he had noticed signs of fighting. He offered a hand to Kizuna, who took it and stood up.

"Who is this guy?"

"It's a long story."

Thor looked back and saw Odin's state. "Alright, tell me later. But right now, I need to punch that guy some more."

Mjolnir appeared on Thor's hand. Kizuna imagined how Thor felt seeing his mother like that. Even Kizuna himself wanted to get back at Chronos for what he did to his friends and everyone else. They both had that in common.

Thor rushed toward Chronos first. He was able to block Mjolnir's strike, but he was still affected by the thunder it released. That was especially dangerous now that there was a deep cut on his chest plate.

"Waaaah!"

Chronos pushed Thor away. But Kizuna caught him midair and threw him right back. Chronos used a barrier to defend himself.

Thunder roared out. Chronos' barrier survived, but he was still sent flying a few dozen meters.

Chronos tried to attack Thor with his energy, but Thor countered by attacking with his lighting. He would bring Chronos' barrier down even if he had to take that attack.

As soon as the barrier went down, Kizuna was there to launch punches at Chronos. They weren't nearly on the level of Thor's attacks. Maybe about a tenth… a fifth… a third… wait, they were getting stronger with each one!

"Enough!"

Chronos' voice roared out. It held so much power it was enough to push Kizuna and Thor away.

"Just die already!"

As if responding to Chronos' roar, the world seemed to plunge into chaos.

The wind spun around, faster and faster until it became a tornado. The earth shook as if someone's hand was playing with the planet. Lava erupted from the earth at the same time as the water levels started rising. And that was all as far as Kizuna could see, who knows what else was going on around the world?

"This isn't looking good. Even if we beat him, I'm not sure there's going to be a world left."

"No way! We have to save everyone."

"Unless you got a way of forcing this guy out of this world, the best we can do is win as soon as possible."

For as much as Kizuna hated to admit it, Thor was right. All they could do was fight and hope for the best.

'Please, let us make it in time' Kizuna prayed in his heart.

"Hahahahaha, hahahaha!"

Hypnos' core in Chronos' chest plate was starting to shine brighter. Sparks were coming out of the exposed circuits. Could it be…

Chronos looked ready to continue the fight, and in that case so where Thor and Kizuna.

Thor and Kizuna started moving towards Chronos, getting faster with each step. They had to win, and they had to win quickly.

They were ready to restart the fight, when-

A ball shaped object was thrown at Chronos. He only noticed when it was too late. Once it hit him, the top opened up and, before anyone could properly process what had happened, he was sucked in.

As soon as Chronos disappeared, the Earth calmed down. This was supposed to be a good thing, but it only left Kizuna and Thor confused.

The ball fell to the ground near a woman's feet. She picked it up and said.

"Gotcha."

Kizuna noticed something related to this woman. She looked a lot like Thanatos, but there were some differences… wait, wasn't she-?

"Are you-?" but before Kizuna could properly ask, the woman answered.

"Nice to finally meet you, Kizuna. I guess you'd know me as Thanatos and Hypnos' mother, but my name is Grecia."

Both Kizuna and Thor were just as confused as before.


	54. Last Chance

There was greenery all around Kizuna, Thor and Grecia. The reason for that is quite simple.

"Eeei!"

Not long after she introduced herself, Thanatos and Hypnos' mother, Grecia, put her hand on the ground. A second after, as if nature had decided to take over the world, green vines started covering everything left standing on Ataraxia.

Kizuna and Thor were worried at first, but Grecia assured them everything was fine.

"This is one of my abilities. I can't do anything for those who have already died, but I can keep the rest alive until help arrives or they naturally recover. Though, considering the natural disasters Chronos caused around the world, I'm not sure what to expect for help, and I can't do much more than provide first aid and help their natural recovery, at least not with this many people."

The vines wrapped themselves around the injured, but they weren't hurting. On the contrary, the injured looked like they were calmer now. Maybe the vines were helping their natural healing ability, so the pain was going away.

Grecia controlled the vines so the injured were put somewhere safe and close by, so it would be easier to transport them out of Ataraxia. They were using a building which was fairly intact (and which Grecia reinforced with her vines) as a base. Grecia told Thor and Kizuna to follow her.

"Well then, I guess I should start explaining. Where should I begin?"

"How about the start?"

Thor was the one to answer Grecia. He and Kizuna helped put the injured somewhere they could rest. Even so, Thanatos, still unconscious, was lying beside Grecia. Their roles had inversed from when Thanatos was sitting beside the unconscious Grecia.

After talking for a little bit, Grecia found out what Kizuna already knew and decided where to begin explaining. Since Thor knew basically nothing, Kizuna told him the basic story of what happened between Grecia, Chronos, Thanatos and Hypnos.

"Well then, I'll begin now. As your mother told you before, Kizuna, Chronos' ability didn't affect my soul. I guess you could say it was like I was a ghost floating around. I even tried communicating with you once, though I'm not sure if you heard me."

Kizuna recalled that moment. It was when he came to visit Thanatos and Grecia. At that time, Kizuna didn't really think much of what he heard (actually because he didn't want to believe in something like a ghost) but it had likely been Grecia trying to talk with him at that time.

"Since I had the chance, and honestly nothing better to do, I kept thinking about a way to stop Chronos. It eventually became a way to stop him in case he got too strong. I was able to work out all the theory behind it, but I only got to properly work on it once I was free from Chronos' ability, so I had to work really quickly and I still arrived later than I would have liked."

"And how exactly were you able to free yourself?"

Thor asked. He was visibly irritated. Kizuna guessed it was because of what happened with Odin. He understood it, because he was also angry.

"I'm not really sure. My guess is that, when Chronos switched the core he was using for Hypnos', that somehow reset the abilities he had used previously."

Grecia wasn't sure, but she was close to the truth. Of course, that was also the case for Odin, who also had her body frozen in time.

When Chronos switched his core, Odin was also freed. Much like Grecia, she had been "a ghost floating around" while her body was frozen in time. As soon as she was free, she headed towards Kizuna's world and arrived when she did.

Of course, when Grecia mentioned Hypnos, her voice was a bit heavy. No matter what, she also considered him her son, like Thanatos was her daughter. But, as Grecia herself had said, she can't do anything for the dead, and now wasn't the time to cry. Chronos was still out there.

Kizuna asked "and what is that thing you made to stop Chronos?"

"Oh, does it not exist here? It's called a poke-"

"What we want to know is how it works and what it does."

Thor interrupted Grecia before she could get too off-course. Grecia pretended to cough and went back into topic.

"Basically speaking, I used the theory behind the gods' power to create worlds. What this ball does is that it traps Chronos inside a world I created, one where the only way in or out is through this ball. I also used your mother's research to block a god's power, Kizuna."

So that was how she was able to catch Chronos inside that ball. And if his powers are blocked, then-

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely block Chronos' power. He's weaker now, but he still has a lot of power. Also, it's only a matter of time before he breaks out, so that's what I wanted to say: someone needs to go in and fight Chronos while he's still weak, that's our only chance to win. I can send however many people I want, so if you want you can call for reinforcements."

"… It's your call, Kizuna."

Thor left the decision on whether or not to call for help to Kizuna. Kizuna closed his eyes for a second to think, then, he said it.

"No. we're going just the two of us, Thor."

Thor nodded to Kizuna's choice. Grecia asked Kizuna to explain.

"Even if we called for help, would anyone really be able to help? Gods apart, it doesn't seem like anyone is able to fight on par with Chronos. In that case, there's no point in asking for help, we'd just increase the number of victims."

There was Osiris as well. They could have waited for her to show up, but somehow Kizuna felt like she wouldn't show up anytime soon. He couldn't really explain it, but he just knew. He wondered what she was up to.

Another reason was that, Kizuna didn't want to see anyone being hurt anymore. He could call Aine and Grace and they would surely help, but if they just became two more victims… just thinking about that made Kizuna's blood boil.

"… Alright. In that case, take some time to rest. Once in, you two are only coming out either dead or if you win, so gather your strength for now. Also, Kizuna, since you're going as well, I'll help you reach Eros' full power."

"You mean…?"

"I think your mother called it Ecstasy Hybrid. I have a god's core in me, so the power-up should be quite something. You might be uneasy to do it with someone you really just met, but you should understand the situation, right?"

Grecia resembled Thanatos, so it went without saying that she was really beautiful. A bit provocatively, she raised the lower part of the hospital clothes she was wearing, but only letting Kizuna see. She was serious when she said she would help Kizuna reach Eros' full power.

She was right that Kizuna would need to reach his full power for this fight, but… it wasn't Eros' power he needed, it was Osiris' power. In that case…

"Thanks for the offer, I guess? But there's no need for us to… well, let's just say I have a trick up my sleeve, so I'm going to try to control that for the fight."

"… If you say so. I did notice you seem to have something other than Eros. Then you two just go rest up, come to me once you're ready, just don't take too long."

Thor and Kizuna nodded and then went their own ways. There were people they wanted to check on.

/

Thor went to where Odin was resting. She still hadn't woken up, so Thor sat beside her. He took the time to rest up a bit and also mentally prepare himself.

She looked really peaceful and she was already greatly recovered. Well, physically, that is. Thor knew that it would take longer for her mind to recover even if her body already did.

He was angry at Chronos for what he did to Odin, but just uncontrolled rage would get him nowhere. Thor needed to calm down and focus his anger. As an experienced warrior, he couldn't let his anger take over.

"… I'll get some revenge for you."

Thor told the sleeping Odin. Maybe because of her regenerative powers being helped by Grecia's powers, she was already looking better. It would maybe take only one day or two for her to be back up.

But again, it would take a day or two for her to be back up. Considering what kind of warrior Odin is, that says a lot about how much damage she took.

Thor closed his eyes and began resting for the battle.

/

Kizuna was going around taking a look at everyone. Thankfully, there were no deaths amongst the people he knew, so that was something he was thankful for.

Although Nayuta, Reiri, Kei, Momo, and everyone else were all unconscious, they were still alive and would recover sooner or later. Even the girls from Masters who had been burned by Chronos would be able to go back to how they were before, Grecia said.

While he made his visits, there was one person who wasn't unconscious.

"Kizuna. What's going on?"

"Hayuru."

Kizuna sat down beside Hayuru. He gave her a brief explanation of what had happened after she lost consciousness.

Hayuru, like most of the injured, was lying on something like a "bed of leafs" or at least that was the easiest way to describe it. Hayuru had vined wrapped around her right arm, just like a lot of the injured had vines wrapped around their injured parts, so Kizuna guessed that was the "first aid" Grecia talked about.

"I see. So you and Thor are going to fight?"

"Yeah."

"Then use this time to do Heart Hybrid with me. If you don't, you won't have enough power."

"I already have something, so there's no need to force yourself. But I do have a favor I want to ask you."

Hayuru was curious about what Kizuna said, but decided to trust him. She heard what he wanted to ask from her.

"If you can, try to get in contact with someone from outside. Try to find out if what their situation is and if they can send help. Well, but most important, rest up some more to make sure you're fine."

"Mmh."

Beside them, Yurishia groaned. She was still unconscious, but maybe she'd wake up soon.

"I guess I'll go finish checking on everyone. You need water or something?"

"No, I'm fine. I guess I'll go back to sleep for a little bit, but… be careful, Kizuna."

Kizuna nodded and then left. If he was going to try to get a better control of Osiris' power inside him, he couldn't do it while sitting beside Hayuru and Yurishia.

The reason is simple; he wouldn't be able to concentrate. He would be too worried about them and would end up forgetting about what he needed to do.

As Kizuna finished checking on everyone, he sat down beside Scarlet and Gertude. He figured this place would do fine. He would be able to concentrate, but also notice any activity from those that were unconscious.

After some time, he heard something coming from beside him.

"Mm… boss…? What's…"

"Ger-san, how are you feeling?"

"Sleepy. What's going on? What happened?"

Kizuna gave the brief summary of how Chronos was caught and how he and Thor were going to fight him.

"So it's not over yet… well, if it's boss, I'm sure you'll win."

Gertude's voice was low, she was probably going to fall asleep soon.

But, before that, there was something Kizuna wanted to ask.

"What about your leg? How does it feel?"

"I don't fe-" but she stopped before finishing her sentence. Only after a second she continued "nothing. I'm… fine, boss."

Gertude fell asleep, likely having spent whatever energy she had left.

Kizuna wanted to ask that because he had been there when Chronos pierced Gertude's left leg. Even though there was nothing he could have done, he still felt like he was responsible, like this was his failure. He preferred to think that, just like how Grecia's vines were helping heal the burns, they could somehow also help Gertude and everyone else who suffered more grave damages.

And it was obviously not just that. He also had good relationships with everyone in Masters. There was also Hayuru and Yurishia, not to mention Reiri and everyone else in the command room. Even Sylvia or someone from her family might have been hurt somewhere. It shouldn't have reached Vatlantis, but just thinking if Aine and Grace had also been here…

There was also Momo, who had just gone deliver Hypnos' food. Odin, who dashed here to help. Kizuna felt not even Hypnos deserved what he got. Not to mention the ton of innocent people who were hurt.

Before Kizuna noticed, his hand was shaking with anger. He used his other hand to stop himself and calm down.

"Calm down. Focus on what you need to do" he told himself.

Kizuna focused on how to access and harness Osiris' power until it was time to fight. He tried focusing on Osiris power not just for the fight, but also to try to subdue his anger. But, unlike Thor, Kizuna had never felt anger like this before. He didn't know how to deal with it.

Not knowing how to deal with it might have been a reason why he wasn't successful.

Then, Kizuna and Thor met back up. Thor felt something strange and different within Kizuna, but didn't really bother with it. They talked with Grecia, who send them to fight Chronos.


	55. Meanwhile

Osiris had left Kizuna's world the night before Chronos attack and hadn't come back. What had she been doing during that time? That is the story that will be told now.

There was nothing too terribly complicated about this story. After she helped create the equipment that had confirmed that Grecia's soul was not frozen in time, Osiris asked Nayuta for some time off from guarding Hypnos, she said one night would be more than enough since she just needed to check something out.

"… Alright. It's not like you work for me anyway, so take as much time off as you want. We'll keep Hypnos secured while you're away."

"Thanks, but I plan to come back as soon as possible. After all, it's dangerous to leave him alone like that."

After her "shift" was over, Osiris headed to Yurishia's house to tell her she would be gone for the night. After spending so long together, Osiris really felt like Yurishia was her second daughter.

"Ok. Have a nice break. I think I'll go sleep with Kizuna since you're not going to be here."

Osiris eyed Yurishia just like a mother sending her daughter off to spend the night on some boy's house.

"Don't do anything you might regret later."

"I wouldn't regret it."

Well, Osiris wasn't really worried, knowing that Yurishia played it mostly as a joke. Although there was a bit of truth in it, but it was just needless worry on her part.

Once she was ready, Osiris opened an Entrance and left Kizuna's world. She said she was going to take a break, and she already had plans for that free time.

/

Osiris had just left a certain world and was about to go back to Kizuna's world. She had already fulfilled her objective.

What she did was simple. Her brother, Set, had been reincarnated by the first god. Although it was a bit troublesome, Osiris was somehow able to track down Set's soul and decided to check how he was doing.

Granted, he hadn't been the best of brothers, but that didn't mean Osiris hated him. She was happy to find out he was living a happy life, even if it was on another world and with another family.

"Guess it's time to go back."

Osiris started heading in the direction of Kizuna's world, but then she slowed down and then stopped.

She wasn't attacked or anything, nor did she see something suspicious. It was just a thought that occurred to her. Seeing the reincarnated Set reminded her of that.

When she went to the land of the dead to get Kizuna revived, she and Kizuna met with the first god, someone Kizuna called Death. Then, he mentioned that he knew about Osiris' attempts to resurrect her world, and even said that some didn't succeed because he hadn't allowed them to.

There wasn't much she could do or say about it at the time but… what about now? Death, as Kizuna called him, gave Osiris and Kizuna a job, and it could be said that they were fulfilling it up until this point in time.

In that case, could she maybe talk it out with Death? If he said he was going to bring her world back, Osiris would do anything he asked of her.

"… It couldn't hurt to try. Nayuta did say I could take as much time as I wanted, what could happen if I just took a little longer?"

And so Osiris made a detour to the land of the dead. Although, Osiris did forget one thing. Due to the time difference between the worlds, a little time for Osiris was more than enough for Chronos.

But she would only find that out later.

/

Since she didn't have to go looking for anyone this time, Osiris headed straight for the pyramid where she and Kizuna met the first god. She didn't know if he would be there, but it was the only place she knew he had been, so it was the best place she had to start.

Because she came back to the land of the dead, Osiris ended up remembering all that had happened the last time she was here. Death was intimidating, but she couldn't back down after coming this far.

It didn't take long for her to reach the pyramid where Set used to live in. It looked, for lack of better words, abandoned. Like there was no one living there, but there really wasn't.

That by itself lowered the chances of Osiris meeting the first god here, but she still had to try. She looked around everywhere on the pyramid, but found nothing and no one.

Osiris was almost giving up, but she figured there was one last thing to try.

"Are you there? Can you hear me? There's something I want to ask."

Osiris shouted, but there didn't seem to be an answer coming. She was ready to give up and go back to Kizuna's world when she heard a voice.

"Ask. However, I believe it is in your best interest to ask quickly."

Out of thin air, the first god, the one Kizuna called Death, appeared. Since he had said that, Osiris guessed he didn't want to waste time with her, so she went straight to the point.

"I want to ask something. Last time I was here, you said you didn't let me revive the people from my world, right? What I want to ask is… please, let me revive them, I-I'll do anything, so please…"

While she talked, tears started streaming down on Osiris' face. It showed that her feelings were real, that it wasn't just a whim of hers.

Even Osiris didn't expect this, she didn't expect to get so emotional. She thought she had already gotten over what had happened, but it wasn't looking like it. Soon, she was unable to control her tears.

If… if he accepted it, there was a chance Osiris could see her husband, her daughter, and everyone else again, so for that-

"Is that all? I believe I have already said I do not meddle with life and death anymore, nor allow others to. The answer is no, and I hope you're satisfied."

"W-wait a second. The job you gave to me and Kizuna, we've been doing it properly. If you let me bring everyone back to life, I'd do whatever you asked me to and you could even use them against me if you needed to, so-"

"If you ever deny a job I give you I will simply find someone else to do it. Also, the people from your world have already reincarnated, what you are asking me to do is to kill them so that they can be brought back to their previous life. Is that really what you wish?"

"…"

Osiris had no answer. Even so, she felt like she couldn't back down. Maybe because this was her chance in so long, her first real chance, of getting her family back. Maybe that's why Osiris was willing to go so far.

Before Osiris could speak up again, Death began first.

"Before you continue, I hope you are satisfied with whatever you get. After all, if you are not, then what good were those sacrifices?"

"Sacrifices?"

"I see, you left before it happened" the first god commented to himself. Then, he told Osiris he would explain it to her.

Instead of talking, the first god gave Osiris a vision. It was a little hard to guess at first, but she soon came to realize, it was Kizuna's world, and it was all destroyed. She could see… Odin fighting someone, Chronos, a little off in the distance.

Death cut off that vision. Osiris dropped down to the ground with her eyes wide open. Did… did that happen because she chose to come here? Osiris asked herself that.

"What, what happened there?"

"Remember the job I gave you, the one you said you were fulfilling properly? As it turns out, you have failed, though the boy that was with you is doing the best he can. He might just be able to fix your mistake."

Her mistake. The words spoken by the first god only made Osiris more convinced. Even if she had done nothing, no, precisely because she had done nothing, not even been there, Chronos attack was her fault.

Granted, even if she had been there, there was a chance things would have ended up the same, but that thought didn't even cross Osiris' mind. She was already convinced she was at fault.

"How many… have died?"

"I never bothered counting. Surely more than what you would have liked."

'No. No no. No no no no no!'

Osiris' mind was a mess. More than anything, she was worried about Yurishia, Kizuna and the others. She decided to leave everything here and head straight to Kizuna's world.

But Death appeared right in front of her. He grabbed her head and said.

"I suppose I should give you what you want, since all these people served as sacrifices, even if that was not what you meant. However, it will not be in the way that you want."

Then, it was as if Osiris' vision disappeared, but not quite.

Instead of total darkness, it was all pure white, as far as she could see. Other than herself, there didn't seem to be anything… wherever this was.

But, after some time passed, Osiris heard a voice. One she hasn't heard in a very long time.

"Mom?"

"I-Isis?"

It really was Osiris' deceased daughter, Isis. But how? Is this some kind of dream?

"I'll explain everything, mom."

Isis began telling Osiris what she knew.

In short, Death had brought Isis' soul here to speak with Osiris. They were the only two people in that "place."

"But then, did he… kill you to bring you here?"

"No. I'm asleep right now, so that man took the chance to bring me to you, mom. I want to talk with you."

"Ah, I see. Then, do you know about your father? And everyone else?"

Somehow, after seeing Isis, Osiris' sense of urgency disappeared. She felt like she could stay there forever. After all, it was her long lost daughter, she didn't even think about it being an illusion or something, though it really wasn't. Besides, if she went out, there was only the blame for what happened in Kizuna's world waiting for her.

"Yes. I only learned this when I was about to come here, but that man took care of it so that we were all reborn together, keeping as much of our relationships as possible. So dad is still my dad even in this new life. He and everyone else are doing fine, everyone is happy… I wish I could remember this, but I've already been told I'll forget all about this as soon as I wake up."

When Isis said "that man" it should be the first god, right? So maybe he does care after all, if he made it so that their next lives would be as close to their previous ones as possible.

The idea that another woman was now married to her husband and birthed her daughter did make Osiris a bit annoyed though. After that Osiris asked Isis to tell her all about her new life.

How much time passed with Osiris listening to Isis? Although it was really different from before, there was a sense of familiarity with this new life the people from her world were living. It was like everyone had moved to another place, leaving only Osiris behind.

Osiris wanted to talk more, to listen more, but she knew she had to get going soon. She was convinced she was to blame for Chronos' attack, but, after seeing her daughter again, she remembered that she couldn't just run away. If she was at fault, she would take responsibility for it.

But, before she went back to Kizuna's world, Osiris had something important to ask. Depending on the answer, maybe Osiris would be able to truly accept her world's death.

"Isis… are you happy with this new life?"

"… I am happy. Though there was always a strange feeling, like something was missing. Now I know it's because you weren't there. Even so, I'm happy that me and everyone else got this second chance. I just wish we hadn't made you so sad, but now…"

Isis looked into Osiris' eyes and said she had something to propose.

"That man told me to make you a proposal. Mom, don't you want to be reborn with us? You can't be my mother this time, but maybe this time I'll be your mother, or maybe you'll be a friend I've yet to meet. Even though we won't remember, our relationship won't change, so we can go back to how everything was."

The first god told Isis to make that proposal? And something like that… Osiris couldn't say it wasn't tempting. If she took it, not only would she get to live with Isis again, but she could also avoid all of the problems that happened with Chronos and all. But even so…

"I can't. I would have loved to go with you and everyone else, but I still have people I care about here. I even found a new daughter of sorts."

"I have to say that that bothers me, but if you're happy, then I am as well," in that point, both mother and daughter were similar. "Even if it's not on this life, or the next one, or the next, I know we'll meet again someday, mom."

Both Osiris and Isis gave their best smile to the other. They didn't want to make this a sad moment, so they were going to leave each other with a smile. Osiris finished telling her daughter why she wouldn't go with her.

"Also, I just made a big mistake. One I can't just turn my back on. If nothing else, I have to make up for that."

Isis nodded to what Osiris said. She knew what type of woman her mother was, so she knew it was something serious, and she was proud that her mother was someone who didn't just close her eyes when she made a mistake.

Isis then said her goodbyes to Osiris. The next second, she was gone, as if she had never been there.

Not long after, Osiris woke up back on the land of the dead. The first god was behind her and seemed a little surprised to see her.

"Hoh. I had expected you to accept the proposal."

"I can't just pretend nothing happened. I wouldn't be able to face Isis or anyone else if I just ran away now. What's going on back on Kizuna's world?"

"The boy and a god are currently fighting the man responsible for all that chaos. You can no longer help with the battle, but you are free to go wherever you wish."

"That's fine. I'll put all my faith in Kizuna, I'll lend him all of my power. I'll do whatever I can to help those that are still alive."

She could feel it. Kizuna was using her power. Osiris could stop him from doing that, but she wouldn't. Lending her power was the only thing Osiris could do to help now, so she would lend all of it.

Death nodded. Osiris dashed out as fast as she could. This time, she didn't make any detours while going to Kizuna's world.

After reaching it, she soon landed on Ataraxia and met Grecia, who explained what was happening. Osiris was a bit surprised, but she couldn't just stand there shocked. It wasn't much, but she started looking at the injured and tried thinking of ways she could help.

Kizuna and Thor's battle ended not long after Osiris arrived.


	56. Fight

Grecia had send Kizuna and Thor to where she was imprisoning Chronos. They knew that, once in, they would only come out if they won.

That place was all white. There was absolutely nothing there. Unlike last time, there would be just Kizuna, Thor and Chronos fighting, without anything or anyone in the way. This meant that Chronos couldn't hurt anyone, but it also meant that, other than themselves, there was no one to help them.

As soon as Kizuna and Thor appeared, Chronos noticed them and looked their way.

"I was starting to get bored. I don't know how you did it, but I've been having trouble to break free from here."

Thor didn't waste a single second and summoned Mjolnir. Kizuna also started focusing Osiris' power in his body.

"You two aren't even going to say anything? Like 'if you want out you'll have to defeat us' or something? You think you have an advantage just because there's no one here and I couldn't repair the damages from the previous fight?"

"Oh, just shut up."

Thor send lighting at Chronos, who defended using his barrier. It wasn't a serious attack, but it went to show that Chronos won't be an easy opponent even with the accumulated damage and lower power.

But there was another difference from last time. Both Kizuna and Thor were now burning with anger. Right now, that was making them stronger.

Thor was angry for what Chronos had done to Odin. He didn't know about their previous fight yet, but he guessed that the time Odin spend missing had something to do with Chronos.

Kizuna was angry for what Chronos did to his world and everyone in it. Although most of the people he knew weren't hurt too bad, he knew that there were a lot of people who were gravely wounded, died, or lost someone or something important because of Chronos' "power exhibition," not to mention what he had done to those Kizuna was close to. Kizuna was always a calm person, but right now, he felt like he could kill Chronos.

"Ha!"

Once again, Thor attacked with lighting and Chronos defended with a barrier. But this time, Kizuna acted. He used all of his speed to go behind Chronos and try to punch him. Chronos' barrier held out, but he was still pushed back a few meters. If that punch had hit him directly… Chronos knew he couldn't just ignore Kizuna.

Kizuna's eyes now shined with a yellow color, just like when he fought Hypnos. Although he couldn't be said to have mastered it yet, Kizuna was letting Osiris' power run through his body.

"Looks like this isn't going to be easy," Chronos said to himself as Kizuna just looked at him in silence "…"

Suddenly, Thor jumped towards Chronos and tried to strike him with Mjolnir. Chronos was able to defend himself, but he couldn't shake Thor off of him.

"I hope you're not forgetting about me."

Thor let electricity flow through his body, and it obviously also reached Chronos. Considering how damaged his chest plate was, this was the most dangerous scenario for him. Chronos had to put some distance between him and Thor by jumping back.

But Thor didn't just stand there doing nothing. He spun his hammer around and gathered some energy on it. Then, he threw the hammer in Chronos' direction.

"Not enough!"

Chronos held out his hand and caught the hammer. As long as he kept it a safe distance away from the core in his chest, there wouldn't be any problems.

"Got you!"

Kizuna suddenly appeared holding Osiris' sword. In less than a second, without hesitation, he swung it down, cutting out Chronos' hand. Thor didn't miss that chance, he called back his hammer and threw it a second time, except it hit Chronos's chest this time.

After a second, Chronos got back up. His hand was already starting to regenerate.

"Ouch, that hurt."

"… You hurt a lot of people, and it hurt a lot more than that."

"So what? Are you mad?"

Chronos tried to slam into Kizuna, but Thor got in the way. They started brawling, Thor shot out his lightning and Chronos shot out his energy, but it soon became a fistfight. From there, it wasn't long before they held each other in check.

Since they couldn't do anything to the other, Thor started talking.

"… I think I know why you made this chest plate thingy instead of just making a core of your own. Unlike a Heart Hybrid Gear's core, which can be taken out, a god's core is more deeply connected to the person, to the point where it even connects to the soul, meaning it can never be taken out. You not only found a way to remove Hypnos' core, but also how to use a divine core's power while keeping it removable, in case you ever came upon a stronger core. Am I right about that?"

"Basically, yes. Ever since I took him, I kept slowly preparing to remove Hypnos' core, in case I needed it. And I didn't make it like that just so that I can switch to a stronger core. For example, I plan to take Eros' core and combine it into Hypnos', so that I can generate more power to myself."

"I see, but your greed will be your doom. It took a lot of fighting and bloodshed, but your chest plate is now damaged and your power is lowered. As long as we attack there, you're eventually going to lose."

"And why are you talking so much?"

"Oh, I just needed to buy some time."

Just then, Chronos felt a great amount of energy behind him. If he hadn't followed his instincts and desperately dodged, the sword Kizuna held would have cut straight through him.

Kizuna wasn't even hiding his killing intent, maybe that had also helped Chronos dodge. Thor didn't really like that, but he wasn't going to be the one to stop Kizuna as long as he was helping out.

Chronos clicked his tongue. If it was just Thor he could somehow manage, but with Kizuna here as well… if Chronos focused too much on Kizuna, Thor would use his powers to mess with Chronos' equipment. If Chronos focused too much on Thor, Kizuna would attack Chronos, even if he wouldn't die, Chronos wasn't a masochist, so he'd rather avoid any pain.

By now, Chronos' hand was already completely healed. He decided it was best to finish this as soon as possible.

Thor made lighting fall down on top of Chronos, but he defended himself with a barrier. Kizuna showed up behind Chronos and swung his sword, but all it did was hit the barrier. Chronos looked at Kizuna tauntingly.

"You better not lower your guard!"

Only after hearing that did Chronos look forward to see Thor launching at him. Mjolnir was able to break through the barrier thanks to the other two attacks, which had weakened the barrier. As soon as the barrier was down, Thor reached for the core on Chronos' chest and started sending out as much energy as he could.

"Gaaaahh!"

Chronos tried reaching Thor's hand, but Kizuna jumped on his back and held him back. The circuits on the chest plate were starting to fry, it wouldn't be long before it wasn't useful anymore.

However, before they could reach that point, something happened with Hypnos' core. It started gathering energy and, before any of them could react, it shot it all out.

"""!"""

Kizuna and Thor were send flying, but Chronos himself wasn't unharmed. While Thor and Kizuna's body just hurt all over, Chronos' skin was burned, likely because of that last energy blast.

"… I think I have an idea."

"I do too. And I think our ideas are the same, so let's do it."

Kizuna and Thor nodded to each other and put their plan in motion before Chronos was healed.

Kizuna rushed towards Chronos and attacked with the sword. Chronos used his barrier again, but he was clearly weaker, so the barrier shattered with Kizuna's first attack. Is he having trouble drawing out all of the core's power now?

Chronos summoned a sword, Hokuto's sword. He and Kizuna clashed swords, but Kizuna was slowly starting to overpower Chronos.

The reason was simple: Kizuna was now drawing out as much as he could of Osiris' power, meaning he was no different from a god now, while Chronos lost access to part of his power, and things aren't going to get better unless he escapes.

"You! This isn't Eros' power, what did you do?!"

"Like I have to tell you!"

Kizuna's sword broke Chronos' sword. Before Chronos could even properly process what had happened, Kizuna swung two more times.

The first one was to cut the left side of the chest plate, and the second one was to cut the right side. Out of sheer luck, Kizuna missed the second swing because Chronos kicked him on the stomach.

But even so, Kizuna reached out and grabbed Chronos' chest plate. He then used all of his strength to swing him around.

"Haaaa!"

Kizuna hit Chronos against anything he could. Kizuna planned to pull out the chest plate with pure strength, and he would also use that to get some revenge for everything Chronos did.

But Kizuna's anger created an opening. Noticing that, Chronos shot all the energy he could at Kizuna, who was send flying because of that.

"Not yet!"

But, immediately after, Thor showed up to take Kizuna's place. Mjolnir landed right on Chronos' face, and Thor hit it again multiple times.

Thor's next attack was to swing his hammer and shoot out lightning. But Chronos didn't give up and withstood the attack.

"You two are annoying!"

"Don't worry, this will end soon."

Thor threw Mjolnir and Chronos deflected it with his bare arms. But that was just what Thor expected.

Thor had rushed up towards Chronos. They then started a fistfight, except with the power of gods. One could feel the air tremble with each of their attacks.

But Chronos was not a fighter, so he had a huge disadvantage against Thor. That's why his tactic was to hold Thor's arms so he couldn't use them. In a few seconds, he'd shoot out his energy again and…

"What do you plan to do now?"

"This."

Thor was faster than Chronos. Thor shot out his biggest and strongest lighting attack to date. It held such power that there was nothing no one could do to completely defend against it.

The electricity was being conducted through the air. It would have been a beautiful scene to look at, save for the smell of burning flesh. And Thor wasn't letting up, he kept the attack going.

"Gaa! Aaaarrg!"

Chronos was clearly in pain. If Thor kept this up for a while longer, the battle would have been over. But a certain thought crossed Thor's mind, so he stopped his attack.

"I just remembered I owe you something."

Thor held Chronos' by his hair and then put a hand over his eye.

"This one is for what you did to my mother."

"Gaaaaarrh!"

Thor focused his lightning on his palm and shot it into Chronos' eye. Not only did it burn through his eye, the lighting even went through Chronos' head and came out on the other side.

Thor only stopped once Chronos was so damaged even his brain wasn't properly functioning anymore. Though, thanks to his regenerative powers, it wouldn't be long before he was back to normal.

"I guess I'll take this."

Thor ripped out the chest plate with Hypnos' core. Then, he threw it a little away from him and started spinning Mjolnir.

"Wait…"

Thor didn't wait. Even Kizuna showed up at his side to watch him end this.

Then, Thor shot out his lightning towards Hypnos' core. It would only take a few seconds for it to blow up.

"Noooo!"

Surprising both Kizuna and Thor, Chronos got up and ran towards Hypnos' core. Maybe he had some leftover power in him? Kizuna was about to go after him when Thor said to just leave it.

A second after, there was a huge explosion that affected even Kizuna and Thor. Even so, this was nothing compared to everything until now.

They both got up. Surprisingly, Hypnos's core was still there, only the chest plate blew up. Chronos was also there, lying on the ground with his flesh all burned and out of strength.

"No, way…"

He looked like he couldn't believe what had happened. But Thor and Kizuna couldn't be bothered about him. They were about to give the signal for Grecia to bring them back when…

"Hahahaha! In this case, I'll just take the core in me like normal. I won't lose here!"

Thor and Kizuna both looked back at Chronos, who was about to swallow Hypnos' core and gain back his full power.

They had to stop him, but there was no time. Thor wasn't fast enough, and Kizuna…

He dashed out towards Chronos with all his speed, almost as if he was already planning to do just that. Kizuna reached Chronos the second before he could take Hypnos' core and, without an ounce of hesitation, swung down his sword, cleaving Chronos' head right off.

That wasn't what Thor was planning on doing, but it was a solution. Still, it wasn't something he expected to see from Kizuna.

"What did you do?"

"…"

"Hey, why did you kill him?"

"… Does it matter? You saw what he did, I just couldn't… I couldn't forgive him. And I know you also wanted him to die."

"… Touché. Well, as long as you're fine with what you did, I'm not going to be the one to morally judge you. Just know that there's no taking back what you did, so don't let it consume you."

Kizuna didn't really care about what Thor said. If he was being honest, it felt easy to kill Chronos like that. Kizuna cleaned the blood on Osiris' sword before making it disappear, even though he didn't need to clean it. It was more like he was enjoying it.

Kizuna picked up Hypnos' core. Then, they send the signal to Grecia and she brought them back.

Once back, they explained what had happened and gave Hypnos' core to Grecia. Osiris, who had arrived just a little while before, also welcomed them.

The next thing Grecia did was prepare a small funeral for Hypnos. Since they were there, Kizuna, Thor and Osiris also watched. Grecia's vines were already holding Hypnos' body, so she just placed the core on top of it.

Then, the vines took Hypnos' body and core down until it couldn't be seen anymore. No one knew where Grecia had send Hypnos, and she likely didn't feel like saying, so no one asked.

The next thing in the to do list was to get help. Both for the injured and to rebuild Ataraxia.


	57. Epilogue 2

Before Chronos noticed, he woke up somewhere.

"What? Where is this?"

He remembered everything up to a certain point. He was about to take Hypnos' core inside his own body when Kizuna struck him down. He felt something on his neck and before he knew it, he was looking at his own beheaded body.

But he was still here, so he must have still been alive, right? There was just a white space, without anything anywhere, but this must be some place, right?

"So you are the fool who almost took the same path I once did. I must say, although it was not needed, I would like to show gratitude to that boy, after all this is not an opportunity that shows itself often."

There was… something in front of Chronos. It was just a skeleton covered with a black mantle. Chronos didn't know this, but it was the first god, the one Kizuna called Death.

"H-hey, who are you? What is this-"

"You already know the answer, even if you refuse to believe. Now, before anything else, there is someone who wishes to meet you. I shall see what to do with what remains after."

Death disappeared without a trace. Chronos was confused for a second, but he then heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You know, there is a time difference between the land of the dead and the land of the living, so I've been waiting for this for a long time. But still, thanks to all that time, I learned about everything."

Chronos turned around, the person speaking was Hypnos, who seemed to be in perfect health. Just from that, Chronos didn't have any more doubts that he was dead. He silently cursed Kizuna under his breath.

But with Hypnos here, there was something he could try.

"Hypnos, how happy I am to meet you. You see, I was being controlled, so-"

"What kind of excuse is that? Didn't I just say I now know everything? I know how and why you kept me close, why you had me steal other gods' powers, how you made me sick so you could eventually take out my core, like I said, everything."

Hypnos was approaching Chronos. It wouldn't take much mind power to figure Hypnos wouldn't be manipulated by Chronos this time. Chronos clicked his tongue, but there was nothing else he could do.

"W-wait, Hypnos. Please listen."

"Now, it's time for me to get my revenge."

Hypnos grabbed Chronos by his neck. They were just souls now, but it still showed how angry Hypnos was and how much he planned to hurt Chronos.

"Gaaahhh!" Chronos' screams echoed out for some time.

By the time the first god came back, Chronos' soul was literally in tatters. Hypnos had stayed there waiting for him.

"I was going to have to reincarnate him, but with his soul in this state, it is no longer possible. However, all the worlds are better off without people like me, so you haven't done anything bad."

Even though the first god said that, Hypnos didn't really care. He got his revenge, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Now, as for you… I suppose I know what to do. Come with me."

Hypnos did as Death said and went with him. What happened after is another story.

/

It was a drop of good luck in a sea of bad luck, but the Ataraxia float had been thrown close to Japan, so it didn't take long for the float to be taken to land and the injured to proper hospitals.

A few days had passed and the least grave cases were already mostly recovered, thanks to Grecia using her powers to help out. Osiris also used her powers to give some support.

Both Kizuna and Thor had already recovered from the fight. Thor was still hanging around waiting for Odin to recover while Kizuna was visiting everyone.

While doing that, Kizuna met with Grecia and Thanatos.

Thanatos was sharing a room with Gertude. Grecia had gone there to use her powers to help them heal and Kizuna happened to arrive at the same time.

"Oh, hey Kizuna."

"Hi boss."

"Hi."

Ever since coming back from fighting Chronos, Kizuna felt… a bit different, like he was a different person. He usually seemed happy while talking, but now he just gave short and serious answers whenever someone talked to him.

"Kizuna… are you fine?" Thanatos worriedly asked Kizuna, who replied with a short "yes."

Grecia knew what had brought that change, but even Thanatos and Gertude guessed it must have had something to do with the battle with Chronos. Thinking she couldn't just leave it like this, Grecia had an idea.

"Actually, you came in good time, Kizuna. Can you help out a bit?"

"What is it?"

"Well, it's about time to take these two to breathe in some fresh air, but it's hard for me to do it alone. How about I take Thanatos and you take your friend?"

"Sure."

While Kizuna went to get a wheelchair for Gertude, Grecia and Thanatos talked with her to tell her she should try to cheer him up. Although she had no idea what to do, Gertude felt like she at least had to try, though she didn't know how successful she would be after how Kizuna dealt with Thanatos.

After a while, Kizuna put Gertude on a wheelchair and he took her outside the hospital to breathe some fresh air. Since just standing around wouldn't be interesting, Kizuna walked Gertude through the city for a bit.

"S-so boss, what have you been doing recently?"

"Nothing much."

"A-ah, I see. … You know, thanks to Thanatos' mother, it looks like the Masters are going to be back in action sooner rather than later. They're already mostly healed, it's like what happened never happened. How about you guys from Amaterasu?"

"… I haven't had the courage to see them yet."

Gertude had already been visited by Sylvia, who met up with them as soon as she could, and had also seen Hayuru and Yurishia, so she knew they weren't hurt too bad and had already mostly healed. From all that, Gertude guessed Kizuna had some reason why he wanted to avoid them.

"Just now you said 'they're already mostly healed,' but what about you? How's your leg?"

Kizuna asked. That had been the most he had talked in a while, so maybe he was starting to open up.

"Ahh, not much has changed, really. I still can't walk or stand. Thanatos' mother told me she's going to focus on healing my leg since I saved her daughter, but said she wasn't going to make any promises."

"…"

Even though Kizuna didn't say anything, it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking.

"You don't have to feel responsible for it, boss. In fact, I wouldn't even be alive if you hadn't saved me when you did."

"But I do feel responsible."

Gertude saw this as a good chance. She would try to liven Kizuna up with a joke.

"Is that so? Then you better take full damn responsibility. I'll be discharged from the hospital soon, so I'll need a place to stay and someone to help me. I'll be expecting three damn good meals every day, along with other luxuries of course."

"Alright. You can stay with me and I'll see what I can do."

"E-eh? B-boss, that was just a joke."

Gertude chose to think Kizuna was going back to normal and had just played a joke on top of hers. She chose to believe that because she didn't really want to see Kizuna as he is right now caring for her. Not that she disliked it, but she felt he should take care of himself right now.

They continued moving through the city. They ended up reaching the place where the Ataraxia float was being kept and repaired.

"Wow, it really took a lot of damage, didn't it, boss?"

"Yeah. But it's being repaired. It should be back on the ocean soon."

There had been something bothering Gertude from a while back, so she decided to point it out now.

"You know boss, you still haven't called me Ger-san yet."

"I thought you disliked it."

"I do, but… how to say it? I guess I got used to hearing boss say it. So it feels kinda strange that you haven't called me that yet."

"… Alright, Ger-san."

Gertude felt happy she got Kizuna to go back to how he was even if it was just that small thing. She tried talking with him the rest of the way back, but she wasn't able to get much out of it.

Kizuna left Gertude on her room and said he was going to visit Momo, Scarlet and the others, so he said his goodbyes and left.

/

Thor was sitting beside the bed were Odin was resting. He had told her what had happened during the fight.

"I see. I wish I could have helped more."

"You already helped a lot. If it wasn't for the accumulated damage Chronos had, we would have fought a lost battle."

Although Thor couldn't say he disliked this world, he also didn't feel like staying. That's why he was just waiting to take his leave.

"So? When are you going to be ready to leave?"

"If I'm going to be honest, we could go right now, but I'm feeling a bit lazy so I'm going to spend the next few days resting."

"What?!"

"You can leave without me, you know. Or you don't want to leave you mother's side while she's sick?"

"You're not sick! You just said you were fine!"

Odin laughed for a bit. She enjoyed teasing Thor like that.

But then she remembered something important she wanted to ask about.

"What about Kizuna? Is he fine?"

"He seemed fine at first, but not now. … I tried talking with him after the fight, but it didn't do much. I've also noticed that his friends have been trying to help him, but they're not doing much better than I did. If you were going to ask me to help him, just give up, I have no idea what to do."

"Hum… well, it's just a guess, but I think that what he needs now is to let out what's in his heart. If his friends aren't enough, then I suppose it's up to those girls."

/

Aine and Grace made their best efforts to come back as soon as they heard what happened. Once they arrived where everyone was, they went to visit Hayuru and Yurishia in the hospital, and just happened to meet with Sylvia there as well.

"Phew, I'm glad you're all fine," Aine said after releasing a sigh of relief.

"Of course. Something on that level isn't enough to get rid of us," Yurishia said with her usual playful attitude.

Grace went to talk with Sylvia.

"It must have been hard for you as well. Is your family alright?"

"Yes desu. Most of the world was just suddenly struck by natural disasters, so even though there were victims, it was still within a controllable level desu."

Ataraxia had certainly been struck the hardest, but it was nice to know that, although the whole world suffered, it wasn't on an apocalyptic state or anything. That would help a lot during the recovery process.

"And what were you two doing this whole time?"

"Me and Grace had to go back to Vatlantis for some important stuff. Since something so horrible happened here, Vatlantis and the other countries decided to help with the rebuilding efforts and we're also helping deal with the injured. Hopefully, with the technology of both worlds combined, we'll be able to restore everyone back to normal."

Just then, Aine noticed Kizuna wasn't there, so she decided to ask if he had some visit them earlier or something. But Hayuru and Yurishia said he hadn't come even once after they arrived in Japan.

"I wonder, why didn't he come visit?"

"Oh, so you're all here. Perfect."

Before they noticed, Reiri showed up at the door. From what she said, it looked like she had been hoping to find them.

Reiri wasn't hurt all that bad, so she was one of the first ones to recover. In general, her, Nayuta, and the others in the command room weren't hurt too bad, so they were also the first ones up.

"You were all wondering about Kizuna, weren't you? Come on, we're going to meet him soon, so get up."

Although they didn't really understand it, the girls got ready and went to where they would meet Kizuna.

/

After a while, Kizuna went back to the hotel room he was staying at. To his surprise, he found Aine, Grace, Yurishia, Hayuru, Sylvia and Reiri already inside.

"What are you-?"

Without any words, the girls called Kizuna to sit down. They wanted to talk with him.

Kizuna sat down in front of them and listened to what they had to say.

"Reiri told us what happened."

"She also told us how you haven't been the same since you came back."

Hayuru started and Yurishia followed. So Reiri had told them about how Kizuna and Thor fought Chronos while they were unconscious.

"We don't know what's wrong, but we don't want nii-sama to suffer alone."

"Captain, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell us desu."

"I… there's nothing."

It didn't seem like Kizuna was going to open up, so Aine and Reiri had a plan ready. Well, not a plan, since they didn't plan it out. They just followed their hearts.

""Kizuna.""

They hugged Kizuna, one from each side. They then whispered in his ears.

"It's fine."

"You can open up to us."

"Aine… nee-chan…"

Then, the other girls held Kizuna's hands with their own. That all went to show their feelings, that they really were worried about Kizuna.

So Kizuna decided. But first, he thought it would be better for them to speak somewhere else, somewhere they could all face each other. So he took them to the bedroom. He told them to sit down on the bed and, after taking in some air, started talking.

"You've all heard that me and Thor fought Chronos, right? At the end of that fight, I… killed Chronos."

So that must have been it. Even during the AU war, even during the battle against Hypnos, Kizuna didn't have to kill anyone.

He was such a caring and good person, having to take someone's live must have affected him on a deep level. Maybe that's-

"But the problem isn't that I killed him."

"It… isn't?"

Kizuna shook his head to Aine's question. If having killed Chronos wasn't the problem, then what was it?

"The problem is… that I enjoyed it. It was easy to kill him, if I could go back in time I feel like I would do the same thing, and every night I dream about doing it again, but it's not a nightmare, I don't feel bad."

The girls didn't know what to say to that. But at least they were starting to see what was bothering Kizuna.

"It's just… I'm afraid. I'm afraid I might have found a part of me that was better off not being found."

After hearing Kizuna out, a smile appeared on the girls' faces. Kizuna was confused at first, but soon received an explanation.

"Is that all? For a second, I was scared it might be something we can't help with and that we might lose Kizuna for good."

"Me too. But if it's just that, then it's all good."

Hayuru started and Yurishia followed. The girls then called Kizuna to sit on the bed along with them.

As soon as he did, they hugged him tightly. The bed wasn't big, but they somehow all fit in it, as long as they held each other tightly. He could feel the softness and warmth of their bodies, and that brought a sense of peace to him.

"You can't take back what you did, but you can't let it consume you either."

"Nee-chan…"

"If captain is in pain, then we'll help, desu!"

"That's right. After all, we all love you, nii-sama."

"Sylvia… Grace…"

To finish off, Aine placed her lips on top of Kizuna's. It was a short kiss, but it was enough. After Aine, all the other girls also kissed Kizuna's lips.

"Kizuna, it's fine. It'll take time, but you'll recover and go back to normal, as long as you don't let it consume you. We'll be here to help you along the way."

"Aine…"

A single tear flowed from Kizuna's eye. He tried to clean it before anyone noticed, but all of the girls did, and they found that cute.

Kizuna had said he might have found a part of him that was better off not being found. That might be true, but, as long as they were here, these girls wouldn't let anything bad happen to Kizuna.

Once again, the girls all tightly embraced Kizuna. But this time, he hugged them back. This brought a huge sense of peace down on all of them.

They held each other close for a long time. Later, they deiced to sleep together that night.

/

Later that night, Kizuna was walking around the city. There was someone he wanted to meet. That someone was Osiris.

Yurishia had told Kizuna that Osiris wasn't acting like her normal self, just like Kizuna. He decided to wait for the girls to fall asleep to go looking for Osiris.

It didn't take him long to find her. He sat down beside her on a bench on some park. This kinda reminded him of the night when he got back his memories from the time he was dead.

"Osiris."

"Kizuna? What are you doing here?"

"Yurishia told me about you, so I came to check."

After a few seconds of silence, Osiris started talking.

"It's my fault. If I hadn't gone to the land of the dead to try to get my world revived again, I would have come back before Chronos and we could have avoided this whole thing."

Osiris had told Thor, Grecia and Kizuna where she had been while Chronos attacked. None of them blamed her, but it looked like she blamed herself.

"You think so? … Maybe that's true, or maybe you'd just be another victim. There's no way to know what could have been. You can blame yourself for not being here, but you can't blame yourself for what Chronos did."

"… Can I tell you something?"

Osiris told Kizuna about what happened when she went to the land of the dead. About how she met with her daughter one more time and how they talked.

"I see. So, what do you plan to do now?"

"First, I want to make up for not being here. I want to help rebuild this world and help with whatever else I can. Once that's done… I don't know. I'm not sure how I would react to seeing my husband married to another woman and to seeing my daughter having someone else as her mother, so maybe I'll stay here a while."

"A-ah, it'll be good to have you around."

Kizuna didn't think Osiris was the type to suddenly show up with a knife and become a serial killer just because her husband now had another woman, so he thought of it as a joke. But he really wasn't lying when he said it would be good to have her there.

Neither Kizuna nor Osiris were in their best state, but they seemed to be getting better together. Maybe that had something to do with how they shared life energy. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

"Anyway, Yurishia was worried about you, so go pay her a visit sometime."

"Ah, I will. Thanks, Kizuna."

"No problem. See you some other time."

"See you. Ah, also."

Osiris called Kizuna back. Once he came back, Osiris took his hand and shook it. "Here's to getting over this, together," she said and Kizuna responded with a "yeah," not quite as energetic as his usual self, but also not as depressive as he had been the past few days.

Osiris said she was going to go to sleep now and went off somewhere. Although she hadn't said anything about it, Kizuna had the impression that, just like she said, she was going to get over what happened.

After that, Kizuna went back to his room and slept with his lovers. From that night forward, he no longer dreamed about killing Chronos. He slowly recovered from everything, thanks to the support he had.

/

Time passed and things went as back to normal as they could. What happened won't disappear, but they also wouldn't let it leave a permanent scar on them.

After the Ataraxia float was repaired, Kizuna and the others boarded it again in order to resume their normal lives. Hopefully, this time, there wouldn't be any more surprises waiting for them down the line.


	58. Note 7

**It's been a long time since this started, but we have finally reached the end.**

 **I tried to play more to the emotional part during this final batch (not like to make people cry but to get you to understand the characters' feelings). Hopefully, it was satisfying.**

 **As for the end… it was a bit bittersweet I think. I kept a lot of things vague on purpose (like about Gertude's leg and about Hypnos and a lot of other things). I'll let everyone choose their own outcomes for that. I originally planned to show these "results" but it was a little dark, so I took it out. Though, if I ever come back to this story, I know what I plan to do about those things.**

 **According to my calculations, this fanfic should have almost 60 chapters. If I'm being honest, I originally planned for a lot more, but I'm happy with how things ended up.**

 **I had to cut out a lot of things I had planned. Like, Aine and the other harem members were kinda just there, but I had planned something like a character arc for each of them that I had to cut out (maybe save that for some other chance). And even part 2 (which I made just to add the sex scenes, but I ended up focusing more on the story) changed a lot. I mean, the story of part 2 didn't really change, but a lot of things in it did.**

 **For example, instead of Chronos VS Kizuna and Thor, I originally planned to do Chronos VS Kizuna and Thanatos. I'd have Thanatos do Ecstasy Hybrid with Kizuna so they could fight and all that. But changing that seems to have been a good choice, since I got to keep the tense feeling, which I feel would have been lost with a sex scene right in the middle.**

 **Also, Thanatos and Hypnos' mother, who had another name originally but I saw how bad it was so I changed it to Grecia (I was never good with names), showed up really late.**

 **I originally wanted to have her show up earlier. She would be similar to Nayuta's character: smart, playful and a bit of a pervert. But due to the nature of when she showed up she couldn't show off those characteristics. Maybe next time.**

 **Well, I'm playing around talking about next times and coming back, but I'm not promising anything (I learned my lesson with SMNT). But still, a little while back, a friend told me an interesting idea that I just might try to do (once again, not promising anything)**

 **But I do have something saved for HxH, though it doesn't have anything to do with this story. Not sure when or if that's ever coming out, but it's something to look out for, I guess.**

 **But yeah, this is the end. Although there were a few bumpy parts, it's been a fun ride. If nothing else, it's been a good learning experience and I enjoyed writing this story. Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading it.**

 **Next up should be the SMNT sequel, so maybe I'll see you there, or somewhere else. Until then, bye.**


End file.
